Amnesia
by Polgara218
Summary: When Bella is hit by a drunk driver she loses her memory. Forced to start a new life as a completely different person she soon loses all interest in recovering her memory. Now going to college to become a teacher she finds herself drawn to Forks.BellaJake
1. The Accident

Edward was gone for the weekend on a hunting trip with his family. I couldn't help but feel the same panic I relived every time he left.

In an effort to distract myself I had driven to Port Angeles to update my book collection. It had helped, if even for a while, to get my mind off of him leaving. As soon as I was out of the store the feelings were back. I knew he would never leave me again, so why did I panic like this every time he left?

The sun had set a half an hour ago and I was left trying to navigate the highway at night. Fortunately for me, the highway wasn't busy with only the occasional passing car.

For some reason I was wide awake tonight. I felt a strange feeling of foreboding, that feeling I got when I thought something bad was going to happen. I tried to pay extra attention to the rode, the last thing I needed was an accident to add to the list of growing threats in my life. Victoria was threat enough.

The semi-truck came out of nowhere, ramming into the passenger side and dragging my truck across the road. I braced myself for an impact as the glass shattered. My truck rolled so many times I couldn't count and then it all stopped at once, and everything went black

"Excuse me Miss?" I was suddenly aware of a bright light that was being flashed in my eyes. I could feel pain everywhere. I was sure that I had never felt pain like this in my life, at least I couldn't ever remember feeling pain like this.

I forced my eyes open and found that I was in a hospital room. The walls were a sickly white and it smelled sterile. There was nothing comfortable about the room, from the scratchy sheets to the overly bright lights.

"What happened?" When I tried to find any recollection of how I ended up here I came up blank.

"You were in an accident." the man replied as he continued to check my vital signs.

"What? I can't remember?" I searched through my head for any memory, but I once again came up blank. There was nothing left of the person I had been before, not even an image.

"Where am I?" there was nothing familiar about this hospital, or was there? I could have been here a million times and not remembered.

"You're in the hospital in Port Angeles. You were severely injured in an accident with a drunk driver."

I tried to find an image that could connect me to the story he was telling me. There had to be something. I couldn't just be erased so easily, could I?

"I can't remember." I panicked.

"You have a severe concussion. It was a miracle you survived. You were thrown through the windshield of the vehicle, seat and all."

"Do I have family? Or friends?" I needed some connection that made me real. Some little piece that said that I wasn't just an empty shell, that I was someone.

"Your car exploded after you were ejected. Any identification was damaged. We can't find any medical records and there haven't been any missing person reports." the man shook his head slightly.

"Who are you?" I was aware of the drowsiness that was threatening to overcome me.

"I'm Dr. Michaels. I was the doctor on call when you were brought in three days ago."

"Three days?" I could feel the panic welling up inside of me. How could I lose all of my memories in three days?

"Will I ever get my memory back?" I reached up with my hand and brushed a strand of brunette hair out of my face. It hurt to even make that small movement.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know."

I leaned back and tried to suppress the tears that were welling up in the corners of my eyes. I had lost everything in an accident I couldn't even remember.

The doctor left me alone. In that overly bright, sterile room. I decided in that moment that I hated hospitals, or I had I already hated hospitals before this?

.


	2. Moving Forward

My eyes froze as I took in the date, I was 21 years old today. I had decided to celebrate my birthday on the day I woke up from the accident. It really was the day I started living as the new me.

The me that had tried to build a life for herself out of, virtually, nothing. My memories started the day I woke up in the hospital. I hadn't regained anything more than that. I was still a person who didn't know if she had family or friends, but I had lost all interest in that a long time ago.

I had spent the first year trying to get my memories back only to be sorely disappointed. I wasn't like other memory loss patients who would see things and it would trigger a memory, the memories just weren't there. It was as if they had all been erased in the accident.

The doctors said that it was highly unlikely. That my brain had stored the memories and it was just a matter of finding them, but I was tired of looking. I had spent a year of my life trying to find them and had only found disappointment. I was done trying to find something that would trigger a memory. If I wanted memories so bad I could go out and make them myself.

They had roughly guessed my age to be 18, so I had continued to go to school throughout that year. I had all the knowledge I needed for doing schoolwork and taking care of myself, I just couldn't remember anything else. Like who my family was, or where I had lived.

I had decided on a name to serve "Temporarily" until I got my memories back. I had decided on Abigail Johnson. I had no idea whether it was anything close to what my name had once been, but I liked it and it was a name that I could call my own. A piece of my identity that I had created for myself.

"Abby! Abby wait up!" I could hear my best friend Michael yelling as I started up the steps to the university.

"You'd better not make me late." I complained when he finally reached me.

He had dark brown hair, and deep blue eyes. He had a darker complexion then mine, but I had never met anyone that had a complexion anything close to mine. He was easily 3 feet taller, and he never let me forget it. He was muscular from his high school years of playing on the basketball and football team.

He had grown up on a small farm in Idaho and then been excepted at the University of Denver, the same school I was going to. We had met on the first day and been best friends since. He was going to school to become a doctor and I was going to school to become a teacher. We had absolutely nothing in common, yet we had been best friends the minute we bumped into each other.

"Have I ever made you late before?" he smiled as he fell in to step beside me, "Happy birthday." he added almost as an after thought.

"I'm officially 21." I returned his smile.

Even though I was 21, I had decided not to drink. A drunk driver had taken away everything from me and I wasn't going to do anything that would make me like him.

Michael and I parted at the doors as we headed our own directions, to our own classes. I walked down the familiar halls that I loved, mostly because they were familiar. They were something that I remembered, maybe not from before the accident, but I remembered them.

I treasured every memory I had made after the accident. They were one more thing that pushed me forward and helped feel the empty void that was left from the girl I used to be.

I had stopped thinking of the two of us as one person a long time ago. She was one person and I was another. I didn't know if we were anything alike. Had we both liked the same foods, or wanted the same things?

I had forced myself to accept the fact that whoever she was, was dead and I was living. She died in the accident and I had to continue moving forward. So I tried to fill the empty space with memories of my own and I made new friends, but I couldn't help but wonder about whatever friends she had left behind.

Had her family buried me? Did they think she was dead, or did they think she had run away and was living somewhere safely? Why hadn't they filed a missing person's report? The questions were endless and I had no way of finding an answer, so I just kept moving forward and doing my best.

I had accepted that there would always be something missing from my life. That those memories had made me someone, who was probably, completely different and I had to rely on the memories I had made to make me who I am.

The class was long and boring, but it was the only class I had today so I endured it. When it was over I found Michael waiting outside for me.

"How long have you been waiting out here?" I asked him when I found him sitting against the wall outside the room.

"About a half an hour." he picked himself up off the floor and we moved back toward the exit together.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked after several minutes of silence.

"Study, I have a test coming up." I sighed as I raked a hand through my black hair. I had dyed it after the accident, I wanted something that I remembered doing.

"It's your birthday, we have to do something." he insisted. He cut in front of me blocking the path I was trying to walk.

"So you can help me study." I suggested smiling, as I tried to go around him.

"We could go to dinner and a movie." his laughing eyes were now deadly serious.

"Like a date?" I paused in my effort of going around him and placed a hand on my hip.

"Yeah, like a date." he didn't meet my gaze, just stared down at the ground.

"Ok." I agreed as I continued walking in the direction of my dorm.

"Wait, you said yes." he hurried once again to catch up to me.

"I said yes." I called over my shoulder as I entered the dorm, leaving him with a wide smile on his face as he stood there staring after me.

_Just so you know, this will be a Jacob/Bella story. Thanks to bells254 for reviewing. I would love it if you would review and let me know what you think. _


	3. Fate and Destiny

**Forks, Washington**

It had been three years since she disappeared. Three long years of Charlie going through a great depression and Renee crying as she searched the entire state of Washington for her daughter.

Charlie had been away on a fishing trip in Alaska at the time she disappeared, by the time he got back there was absolutely no sign of her and he had no idea how long she had been gone. He had charged over to the Cullen's house with his shot-gun in hand just to find a very distraught Cullen family who had no idea where she went.

The search for Isabella Swan had been exactly 3 weeks too late, but they didn't know that. They had no idea that we had made their daughter disappear. That she had no memory of them and probably never would regain it.

The first thing we had ever done that bordered on the edge of not being neutral. We couldn't let her stay in Forks, she was losing sight of the path of her destiny. It was better to erase her destiny then let her erase the destinies of so many others.

Her choices would have no doubt led her down a road of destruction that no one would ever recover from.

"It's best this way." Anya told me in her quiet voice. She pulled the green cloak she was wearing closer to her body.

"I can't help but think we've crossed a line in this." I explained quietly as we watched the father from the woods.

"She would have destroyed the natural balance of things." she reprimanded my emotions keeping her voice low.

We didn't speak any more as the rain fell in drops all around us. Anya's flaming red curls blew in the wind along with both of our cloaks.

"You aren't getting sentimental are you, Damon?" Anya asked quietly as we continued watching the house.

"You know me better than that." I met her gaze for several seconds before turning back to the house.

Charlie was sitting at the kitchen table staring into space. He had set up his entire search in the kitchen and was surrounded by pin boards and papers. He looked lonely, and deeply depressed.

"Perhaps we could move some small bit of happiness his way." Anya suggested.

"Sympathy, Anya? I thought that you considered emotions weakness."

"His depression bores me." she said heartlessly.

"I doubt that any good fortune you send to him will replace the loneliness left by his daughter."

"I'm going to go check on the wolves." her tone was full of boredom.

"Very well then, the rain is better company then you." I dismissed her pulling my own cloak closer around me.

"So be it." she turned and disappeared among the trees.

I could feel the despair that hung over this small town. Between the wolves, the coven, and the relatives, Isabella had left an absence that affected everyone's fate. Had her leaving tipped the balance just as her staying would have? I had to hope not, for everyone's sake.

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Let me know what you think of this chapter. _


	4. A Disaster of a Date

"Hey!" Michael greeted me enthusiastically. I couldn't believe he still acted this enthusiastic when he was an entire half an hour late.

"Hi." I turned to hide my growing irritation and grabbed my purse from the bed.

"You're never going to guess who I just got off the phone with." he looked ready to start jumping up and down.

"Who?" I used every last ounce of patience within me to not say it sarcastically.

"My cousin, who lives up in Washington. You remember the one I'm always talking about."

"The one that lives in that small town in the middle of nowhere?" I followed him out the door and we started the decent down the stairs.

"Yeah, Mike. He just invited me to come up to visit him for spring break."

I could feel a small twinge of jealousy. How was it fair that he had cousins and relatives that he was close to and I had no one?

"That's great." my voice betrayed me with an off tone.

"You should come with me. We could take turns driving and split the cost for gas, it would be fun. You said you were from there, didn't you?" the two of us reached the courtyard and began walking toward his car.

"Yeah, but I don't know about going." despite his enthusiasm. I didn't really want to be surrounded by family and see what I was missing out on.

"You don't even have to stay in Forks if you don't want to. You can take the car and go wherever you want." he tried to pursued me.

"I'll have to talk to my room mate and I still have a paper to write before I can do anything else."

I had missed the beautiful crisp smell that the rain left behind and I wanted to drive down the same stretch of highway I had been in the accident on. I hadn't been able to get myself to drive down that road after the accident and I didn't think I would ever be able to truly move on until I had faced that one fear.

"Are you ok?" he asked to fill the silence that had settled over us.

"I'm fine." I murmured back, turning to stare out the window.

"You've never told me about your family." he steered to a new conversation. One I had been avoiding since I met him. I didn't really want everyone to know that I had no memory of my early years. The accident was something I was trying to move on from, not publicize.

"There's really nothing to tell." it was close enough to the truth. I really did have nothing to tell him about them, if I even had a family.

"There must be something. Where did you grow up?"

"I don't remember." I wished he would just drop the subject.

"You don't remember?" he asked incredulously.

"No, I don't." I let all the annoyance I had been hiding since he showed up late seep into my voice.

"How do you forget where you grew up?"

"You get in a car crash with a drunk driver and lose every memory you have before that." my voice was close to yelling.

"You're serious." he turned to look at me in his seat.

"Eyes on the road." I said instantly.

He turned back and resumed driving with more focus then before.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the seat, "Just drive me back to my dorm." I told him firmly. I didn't want to have a date filled with awkward silence and the occasional small talk.

Just as I had asked he turned the car around and drove back to the campus. I couldn't help but feel a little upset that he hadn't insisted that we could move on from this and resumed the date.

I got out of the car and moved toward the dorm without looking back at him once. I could hear him get out of the car and hurry to catch up to me. By the time he reached me I was already in front of my dorm.

"I'll call you tomorrow?" It came out as more of a question then a statement.

"Yeah." I told him. I turned and walked into the building, the entire time feeling his eyes on my back.

_Once again, thank you to eveyone who reviewed. Reviews really help me stay motivated to write. I would love it if you would let me know what you think so far._


	5. My Matchmaking Roommate

"He just drove you back?" my roommate, Janice asked when I had finished telling her why I was back early.

"At least he told me he would call me." I was brushing my hair while I sat on my bed.

"What about that Washington thing, are you going to take him up on his offer." she was sitting cross legged on the bed watching me.

"I don't know if he's even still talking to me, wouldn't it be a little bit awkward to take that long of a drive with him?" I set down the brush and grabbed a bottle of nail polish from my dresser.

"It's a chance to get out of this place. At least in Washington you have a fairly good idea what the weather is going to be like." Janice came from California, and she hated the snow just as much as I did.

"If I want to get out of here, I could just go to Wyoming or New Mexico." I pointed out as I began painting my nails a dark red.

"New Mexico and Wyoming aren't your home, though." she was the one person who I had trusted with the knowledge about my accident when I first got here

"I don't know if Washington is my home either." I moved over to my next hand and absently surveyed the chipped polish on my toes.

"Does Washington feel like home to you?" .

"Yes." I admitted quietly.

"Then it's your home. Just because I was born in Arizona doesn't mean that I think of it as home." I felt a small twinge of something go through me as she said Arizona.

"You look like you're from California, though." I shook it off.

Janice had naturally blond hair and deep blue eyes. She was tall and played volleyball and tennis. She had come to Colorado to experience something new, and had found that the weather was the biggest adjustment for her. She had lived in sunny places all her life.

"My dad was from California and I take after him." she smiled softly. Her father had died in a car crash with a drunk driver several years ago. It had probably been because she confided in me that fact that I had told her about my own accident.

"What does your mom look like?" Although, I had heard lots about the way her parents were I had never seen a single picture of them.

"My mom's an average height. She has dark brown hair and emerald eyes. My twin sister looks more like her twin than mine." she laughed as she grabbed a picture album from behind a mound of clothes in her closet, and tossed it to me.

I looked through the family pictures. They all looked so happy and close. I wondered whether I had once had a family like that.

"That's my younger brother, Spencer." she pointed to a tall brunette with an athletic build and the same stunning blue eyes his sister had.

"How much younger?" I joked as I looked through several more pictures.

"Only a year, I could see if he's interested if you want." she took the question completely serious.

"I'll definitely consider it." I told her as I handed the album back to her.

"Wouldn't it be fun if you became my sister-in-law?" she asked as she put it back in the closet.

"I've never really thought about being married." I told her as I started on my toes.

"You mean you never imagine what your wedding will be like?" she laid back down on her bed.

"No, I guess not." I finished my toes and put the nail polish back.

"You should go to Washington." she bounced back to the main subject.

"It would be nice to get away for a while." I admitted.

"So you should. You have to take a break from your studies every once in a while."

"I don't know, I'll have to think about it." I crawled under the covers and grabbed one of my reading assignments from my book bag.

"Don't you ever do anything without thinking." she distracted me from the book.

"Not that I remember."

"So just once do something spontaneously." she got up from her bed and grabbed my book from my hands.

"I don't like to be spontaneous, too many things can go wrong." I tried to retrieve the book from her.

"You should try it. Even if it's just so you can say you did it once." she handed the book to me.

"You're the annoying sister I can't remember having." I told her as I took it back.

"If you marry my brother then I can be your sister for real." she had a look in her eyes that said she was already planning the wedding.

I rolled my eyes and went back to my reading. I had to hope that she would think things through before she tried to set me up with her brother.


	6. On The Brink of War

"Charlie." Renee greeted me at the door. She appeared to have lost a great deal of weight and the dark sunken bags beneath her eyes spoke volumes. Her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was hung in a messy ponytail.

"What are you doing here?" the two of us had only argued since Bella had disappeared.

"You must have some kind of lead to where she is." Renee pleaded getting to the point.

"If I did don't you think I would already be pursuing it?" I snapped, immediately regretting my tone when I saw her wince.

" I've been thinking, what if she ran off with Edward and the Cullen's are just covering up for them?"

"I don't know. We have no evidence that anything like that has happened." I stepped aside so that she could come in.

"How much do we really know about the Cullen's? Have you ever done a search to see where they worked before this, to make sure they really are who they say they are?"

"There's never been a need." I admitted as I led her into the kitchen, where I had set up our base of operations.

"Well now we have a need. We need to figure out everything we can about them." she surveyed the area and then took a seat at the table.

"I'll get right on it. Just don't mention it to the guys at the station, they think I've gone crazy enough as it is."

"I'll go over and talk to Esme, Bella couldn't just disappear without a trace." Renee snagged a tape recorder that I had stacked on the table.

"What's on this?" she questioned as she played with it in her hand.

"It's a tape of Jacob Black, explaining how he had come over to find her missing and had called the Cullens." I explained.

"Why don't we look into the Quiletes too? For all we know they could be in on it with the Cullens."

"I don't know, Jake's a good kid. I can't imagine him doing something like this to us and the Cullens and them can stand each other."

"Something happened to Bella and I won't rest until I figure out what. We have to pursue every avenue"

"We'll look into it." I promised her after several minutes of silence.

"You go get that file and I'll look into the Cullens." she got up and moved back toward the door.

"I'll meet you back here in a half an hour." I told her firmly.

"I'll be here." she smiled a small smile at me before leaving the house.

She and Phil had gotten a divorce, after he claimed that she was to obsessed with finding her daughter and that she just needed to let it go.

I turned and left the house to my cruiser letting myself hope, for a moment, that we could find Bella.

"That's worrisome." Anya said from behind me, where we watched from the woods.

"Perhaps we tipped the balance scale too much." I told her.

"The wolves and the coven are already at the brink of war. If one of them find out that Charlie is investigating the other, we'll have a full out war on our hands."

"What do we do, Anya?"

"We could create a false lead. Let them think that she's dead. If we don't do something then everything we've worked for could collapse."

"Or we could talk to the wolves and the coven." I suggested.

"Maybe we could erase several more memories." she ignored me.

"We can't erase the memories of the coven and the wolves, you know that."

"If everyone in town forgets about Isabella Swan than things may return back to normal."

"Then we will have erased everyone's destinies."

"Then we leave it up to her?" Anya asked.

"Even without her memories, she's still working towards the same destiny. She'll find her way back here, and we can hope that she will put everyone's destinies back on track."

"Have we failed?" she let her insecurities flow into her voice.

"We've done everything we can to prevent what would have been, what would have surely tipped the balance. I have little hope in Isabella Swan, but I believe in Abigail Johnson. She's following the path Bella should have followed."

"Do we help her? The balance is already tipping and if she's our only hope to fixing things than we'd still be neutral." she lowered her voice as we heard wolves howls in the distance.

"If we don't speed up her process of getting here then it may be too late." the two of us glanced at each other for several moments.

"So be it." she murmured.

_Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think._


	7. Memories

"Abby! Wait up!" I could hear Michael calling me. It seemed that he was always trying to catch up.

"What do you want?" I paused and clutched my books closer to my chest.

"I want to apologize about yesterday." he looked at me with those deep blue eyes and I found that I couldn't stay annoyed with him any longer.

"I forgive you." I smiled and started walking toward the library again.

"So will you come to Washington with me?" he asked as he fell into step beside me.

"Ok." I agreed without even thinking it through.

"You're going to give in that easily?" he seemed surprised.

"I guess." I was still puzzling over the fact that I had said yes without even deciding to say yes.

"I'll pay for gas and you can bring the snacks." he began planning as we stopped at a bench right outside the library.

"Sounds like fun." I agreed.

"You'll love my family. My cousin, Mike Newton, is a blast." I could feel something go through me at the name.

"Mike Newton?" it sounded so familiar.

"Yeah, and we should go up to the La Push beach while we're there, you'll love it."

"Right, I have to go meet Janice. You'll call me with the details?" I suddenly felt strange.

"Yeah." he watched me as I walked away.

I turned the corner out of his sight and sat down with my back against the building. I had a head ache that seemed almost as bad as when I woke up from the accident. Suddenly I wasn't seeing the school anymore.

**The sun had set a half an hour ago and I was left trying to navigate the highway at night. Fortunately for me, the highway wasn't busy with only the occasional passing car.**

**For some reason I was wide awake tonight. I felt a strange feeling of foreboding, that feeling I got when I thought something bad was going to happen. I tried to pay extra attention to the rode, the last thing I needed was an accident to add to the list of growing threats in my life. Victoria was threat enough**.

**The semi-truck came out of nowhere, ramming into the passenger side and dragging my truck across the road. I braced myself for an impact as the glass shattered. My truck rolled so many times I couldn't count and then it all stopped at once, and everything went black**

When I opened my eyes I was back sitting against the school. My breathing was coming in gasps and I could still feel the car rolling.

"So be it." I hear a voice whisper, but I couldn't see anyone near me.

"I'm losing my mind." I told Janice when I entered the dorm.

"You're the most sane person I know. You've never done anything crazy before in you life." she told me from where she was sitting with a magazine.

"We don't know that." I told her as I went through my bag looking for a map.

"What are you doing?" she shoved the magazine aside and came to watch me.

I finally found the map of Washington and laid it out on the bed.

"I'm looking for the highway I was on when I was in the accident." I told her as I traced my finger along the map.

It only took me several minutes to find the highway that I had traveled from Port Angeles.

"I had to be going somewhere. I've never thought about where I was going." I continued to trace my finger along the highway.

"There's a million places you could have been going along that highway." she pointed out as she watched me.

"Hand me that pen." I told her as I gestured toward a red pen on the table by my bed.

She grabbed it and handed it to me.

"This is where I was in the accident." I said circling the area in red.

"Ok, that doesn't narrow it down at all, it was right outside of Port Angeles." she too began tracing her finger along the route.

"Maybe I was staying at a hotel somewhere, or I lived close enough to travel to Port Angeles." I mused.

"Maybe you were visiting someone." she added as we continued to scan the map.

"So for sure we know I was in Port Angeles. Maybe someone remembers me." I perched on the edge of the bed and moved the map out of my way.

"We could call all the hotels in the area and find out if anyone just disappeared without paying and then we could try small stores in the area. I doubt a big store owner would remember you, but one that runs a family business might." she suggested as she returned to her own bed and grabbed her lap-top.

"It would really be easier if we could go there and talk to them ourselves. They may be able to recognize me."

"Your right. Did you talk to Michael yet?"

"I told him I would go with him, but I think he wants to go more to spend time with his family then help me track down my past."

"I could come with you and help. I've been dying to get out of this place and we two heads are better than one."

"I'll talk to Michael." I smiled.

"Better yet, let me talk to him." she smirked.

I looked back down at the map. Was this really a good idea? I suddenly was left wondering whether I really wanted to know anything about my past.


	8. When the past comes back to haunt you

"_**He wants to stop and visit his family?" Janice asked as we packed our bags. We were leaving tomorrow and hadn't had time to pack until now.**_

"_**They're on the way. It would be rude not to stop." I murmured as I tried to decide what shoes I was going to bring.**_

"_**Aren't you supposed to be dating before you go to meet his family?" she was surveying the contents of her closet, which now were spread out across her bed.**_

"_**We're going to meet his family, as in you too." I tried to decide between two pairs of heels.**_

"_**He hasn't asked me out on a date, yet." she said under her breath.**_

"_**It isn't like we aren't going to be seeing his cousins and aunt in Washington." I pointed out, ignoring what she just said.**_

"_**I was thinking maybe we could just drop him off and go stay in a hotel in Seattle." she grabbed a shirt from the heap of clothes.**_

"_**Seattle is nowhere near where we were planning on looking." I went to my closet to get a pair of jeans.**_

"_**But it's far away from his family." she folded another shirt and set it in the suit case.**_

"_**What do you have against his family?" **_

"_**Don't you think that it's weird that he's that close to his family?" **_

"_**No, not really. Aren't you and your family close?" I stuffed my travel bag of toiletries in the case.**_

"_**If we were then wouldn't I have attended the same school as my sister and brother?" she began digging through the pile again.**_

"_**I guess." I let the subject drop and went back to my packing.**_

"_**My family hasn't been really close since Dad died." she said quietly.**_

"_**What shoes should I take?" I asked her finally to break the silence.**_

"_**What about those black boots with the 5 inch heal?" she suggested as she turned to go through my shoes.**_

"_**Do you think the rain would be good on them?" I grabbed the shoe from the pile.**_

"_**They've lasted through the snow. I wish I could walk in heels like those." she said wistfully as she held one of the boots up.**_

" _**It takes the balance of a volleyball player." I joked as I went back to my closet to sift through clothes.**_

"_**You never told me you played volleyball." she set the shoe down and returned to her own packing.**_

"_**After the accident I needed something to get my anger out on. They recommended a sport and I decided on volleyball. I even made it on the team." I smiled at the memory.**_

_**I took the clothes I had chosen back to my bag and carefully folded them. When all my things were safely tucked inside, I closed and zipped the suit case.**_

"_**You're done already?" she asked as she looked up from what she was doing.**_

"_**Packing doesn't really have to be a big deal." I told her smiling as I set the case down and grabbed my jacket from the bed.**_

"_**Where are you going?" **_

"_**I have to return a book to the library." I grabbed my book bag and hurried from the room before she could find a reason to detain me.**_

_**I cut across the grass and moved toward the old building.**_

"_**Hey, Abby." Jeffery greeted me as he was coming out of the building.**_

"_**Jeff." I didn't meet his eyes. We had dated for a while and had even become close to getting engaged when we had gotten in an argument and avoided each other ever since.**_

"_**What have you been up too?" I could feel his eyes calculating me.**_

"_**Nothing much." I moved toward the door hoping to cut this conversation short.**_

"_**I heard you were dating Michael." I froze.**_

"_**No, I'm not." I opened the door and ducked in before he could say anything else.**_

"_**Ms. Johnson." the librarian greeted me when I returned the book.**_

"_**Hey, Mr. McBride." I was a frequent visitor to the library.**_

"_**What are you doing over spring break?" he paused what he was doing and turned to look at me.**_

"_**Some friends and I are going on a road trip." I said goodbye and then hurried from the library back to my dorm.**_

_**I stopped at my car to grab my the jacket I had left there earlier and was shocked at what I saw.**_

_**My windshield was splattered with something red, and in a note under the windshield wipers it said: You can't hide. **_


	9. Unbalanced

"Victoria has located the girl." Anya told me as she entered the small clearing I was standing in.

"Is she dead?" If the girl was dead all was lost.

"Victoria likes to play with them and the girl is on the run. For the time being she is safe as she makes her way to Forks." Anya's curls seemed to blaze.

"Her parents are getting closer to the truth." my eyes went out across the clearing to where a wolf was running.

"Something has to be done." Anya murmured.

"Perhaps it is time to contact William." the suggestion made her skin pale.

"To contact William is to admit that we've failed."

"Have we not failed? The balance is tipping greatly and even the girl may not be able to stop what events have been activated." A soft rain began falling.

"Then we will intervene again." she turned her head as she looked up at the sky. "Does it never stop raining?" she cast a hand out and the rain slowed and the sun came out from behind the clouds.

"Now you're effecting the weather?"

"I've put too much effort into this to fail." she ignored me.

"Then what do you propose we do?" the clouds were moving back over the sun.

"We need to delay her father and her mother and we need to speed up her journey to Forks. The wolves and the vampires cannot start fighting, yet. We need to give them something else to worry about." she glared up at the clouds.

"I'll leave it up to you then." I turned and disappeared in the trees as I made my way to the town of the wolves.

When I reached the small house I was looking for, I saw Billy Black sitting in his living room. Jacob had just come in from running, he sat on the porch dripping wet with a blank look in his eyes that hadn't left him since the girl had disappeared.

"Jacob." I materialized before him.

"Who are you?" his expression didn't change. He didn't even register surprise.

"That is of no moment. You must stop the fighting between the wolves and the coven." I watched him closely for any sign of a reaction.

"I don't have any influence over the pack." he didn't look up at me, he just kept staring out at the street as if he were waiting for someone.

"You're their alpha." I reminded him.

"Not anymore." he got up and moved toward the house.

"She's still alive." I breathed the words he had been waiting to hear for three years.

"How do you know?" he stopped and looked at me.

"The war between the vampires and the wolves cannot start until she returns." I continued.

"How do I know that you're not lying." suspicion came into his expression. The first expression he had shown in a long time.

"You don't." and I was gone again, leaving him to stare at the empty space before him and question his sanity.

"We don't talk to mortals." Anya greeted me from where she stood on the road.

"The wolves aren't technically mortals." I reminded her.

"Close enough." she shrugged it off and followed me down the road.

"I refuse to have dealings with the coven." I told her as I pulled my cloak closer to ward off the chill.

"They don't need to be informed. They have the powers against the wolves already." she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"When the girl gets here the balance will tip to the wolves."

"If she follows the path she should have taken." Anya shot back quickly.

"She will, Abigail doesn't fall prey to the vampires charm so easily." I smiled and Anya took my arm.

"We can hope you know this Abigail as well as you think you do." we continued walking down the road. The rain was coming down harder now and in the distance you could hear the wolves howl.

_Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed. _


	10. Welcome to Washington

"Why did we have to leave this early, again?" Michael asked from where he laid sprawled across the backseat.

Janice was asleep in the passenger seat, which was reclined as far as it would go. I hadn't told either of them what had happened with my car.

"I'm being spontaneous." I tried to sound up beat, but I was shaken. What if someone really was after me, someone I couldn't remember?

"Couldn't you be spontaneous at a decent hour?" he was wearing a pair of sweats and his hair was a complete mess with hair going in every direction.

"If I did than it wouldn't be spontaneous." my fingers were turning white as I held the steering wheel tight and I kept glancing out the back window, looking for signs of pursuit.

"Chill out Abby," he said as he looked at my hands, "you don't need to hold the steering wheel that tightly. You don't want those perfectly manicured nails to break." he shifted in his seat.

"You know I don't care about my nails." I murmured as I glanced out the back window again. He had teased me about it ever since I had started growing my nails out.

"We can just stop at my parents house on the way home. My sister just had a baby yesterday and my mom's spending all her free time with her. It'll be easier just to stop on the way back." his eyes were drooping but I could tell he was fighting it.

"Don't you want to go see her baby?" I felt slightly jealous. I couldn't wait to get married and have kids. I had worked with children who had memory loss at the hospital, they had grown on me to the point that I had wanted to become a teacher just so that I could work with children.

"She'll be out of the hospital when we get back and I can visit her at her house." he leaned his head against one of the pillows we had stacked in the back seat, messing up his hair even further. I had to wonder how he ever got it to lay flat.

"Ok." I responded after several minutes of silence. When I glanced in the mirror to look in the back seat I could see that he had fallen asleep. I turned my attention back to the road and continued glancing out the back window.

I settled down as I watched the sun rise giving light to a new day, but none of the terror, that had entered my system when I had seen my car, diminished by the sunlight. I felt slightly nauseous whenever I thought about my car, which was still covered in the red liquid, sitting back at the school.

Janice took over driving when we stopped for gas in Logan, Utah, and I got some sleep. Even my dreams were haunted with people chasing me and blood everywhere. I woke up feeling more tired then when I had tried to go to sleep.

We crossed into Oregon just as the sun was setting and spent the night in a motel in Baker City.

"I'll take a turn driving today." Michael told us when we got back out to the car in the morning. To save money on the motel room, he had just slept in the car.

"If your feeling up to it." Janice took a seat in the back seat and I took the passenger seat.

"We should get there later this afternoon." Michael looked like a child at Christmas, he could hardly stay still. His fingers were twitching and a smile seemed to be plastered on his face. I wondered whether I had ever been this excited to see my family.

Several hours after we crossed into Washington it began to rain. It started out as a small drizzle and continued to get fiercer as we drove. The sun was hidden behind deep grey clouds and I could hear several rumbles of thunder.

I pressed my hand against the window and watched the glass fog up. A small smile stretched across my face as I watched the tiny droplets fall from the sky, I was home.

"What are you thinking about?" Michael shattered my thoughts.

"The rain." I kept my eyes focused on the window.

"Do you know what your plans are for when you get there?" I could hear the real question in his voice. He wanted me to stay and spend the entire time with his family.

"We'll probably just drop you off and stay in Port Angles or Seattle. I have some things I want to look into while I'm here."

"You could just stay with us. You could sleep in the guest room and I could sleep with my cousin, Mike." I could feel his eyes on me.

"I don't want to ruin your family time." the rain was coming down even harder now. He turned on the windshield wipers.

"You wouldn't be ruining it, you would be adding to it." he insisted.

"I don't know." he let the subject drop and left me alone as I looked out at the rain.

"Are we there yet?" Janice asked from the back seat. She had been napping.

"Almost." Michael replied.

"It's raining!" she cried with dismay as she sat up in her seat. I resisted the urge to laugh.

"I warned you that it tended to happen here." I smirked as I looked back to watch her.

"I thought you were exaggerating." she watched the rain with dismay.

"Welcome to Washington." I smiled as I returned to watching the rain out my window.


	11. Not So Welcome

The first thing you notice when you enter Forks is the old sign that looks ready to fall over. The second thing is the population sign that's been knocked over and lays in the grass. There were old posters hung everywhere that were so wet you couldn't make out the picture. The town looked almost lifeless, like people had stopped trying.

"You've got to be kidding," Janice looked out at the thick forest and the small houses we were passing, "When you said small town, you weren't joking." she ran a hand through her blond hair and continued watching out the window with a look of disbelief. She seemed completely unfazed by the sadness that the town itself seemed to have.

"You're a city person, I forgot." Michael was looking at the town with complete fondness. He too seemed completely aloof to the mood that hung over the town. Maybe it was all in my head.

"Do you come here often?" Janice asked when she saw his face and the smile he had worn since we entered Washington grow even bigger.

"I used to come and spend the summers with them. I worked at the wildlife shop my uncle owns."

"Why would you want to come here? I see no sign of a mall or a movie theatre. It barely seems to pass as civilization"

" You don't need those things to have fun. I have some of my fondest memories here." Michael smiled in amusement as he watched her.

"I think it's kind of nice. It looks like it has that small town feel." I jutted in before they could continue their arguing.

"Here we go." he pulled into the driveway of a small house that looked nice and pulled together.

The house was white with blue shutters and there were flower boxes lining the windows. The grass looked mowed and the bushes that ran along the edge of the house were nicely cut. All it needed was a white picket fence and it would fit the perfect stereotype of the small town home.

"Right out of a movie." Janice was digging through her duffel bag, looking for a jacket, the rain was still coming down hard.

"Aunt Liv's good at keeping things looking nice." he got out of the car and moved over to the passenger side to open my door.

"Are we going in?" Janice hissed from the back seat. She had a panicked look in her eyes that said she wanted to just leave right now.

"It would be rude not to." I hissed back as Michael opened the door for me.

"We'll come in for a couple of minutes." Janice told him as she climbed out of the back seat.

I stood behind Michael as he easily moved up to the front porch. He looked happy to be visiting his family and it seemed to make him act much younger then he usually did. It was strange to see him act so young and carefree, as if this place could take away the years.

"Michael," a woman enveloped him in a hug, "You've grown up." she had to reach up on her toes to get her arms around his neck.

"Aunt Liv, this is Janice and Abigail." he stepped aside so that she could see us.

Her pleasant smile wavered slightly when her eyes settled on me. She looked startled and I could hear her suck in a breath before she returned to normal.

"Abigail?" her voice was hesitant and her face had paled.

"Abigail Johnson." I didn't make any move towards her as she watched me.

"Sorry, you reminded me of someone." she recovered shaking her head. Her warmth returned quickly and she moved on as she showed us the house.

"Mike should be home soon. He went to the store to buy a few things, I try to get him out of the house as much as possible. He's still hung up on his break up with Jessica." she rolled her eyes as she moved around the kitchen making dinner.

"I suppose they were high school sweet hearts?" Janice stood uneasily in the doorway, with a look on her face that said she was preparing to run.

"They had an on and off relationship all through high school." she didn't seem to notice how skittish Janice had become.

"How are Ben and Angela?" Michael changed the subject. He was sitting in a kitchen chair watching his aunt.

"They're still together. They want to finish college before they consider getting married, but I'm sure that we'll get a wedding announcement not long after they graduate." she kept glancing at me uneasily.

"Did they take care of that wild animal problem?" Michael was still in his state of obliviousness.

"The killings stopped a while ago, no one knows what happened to the animal." she blew a strand of hair out of her face as she began chopping vegetables, "Tell me about yourself Abigail." she finally said.

"I'm going to school to become a teacher at the University of Denver and I hope to get a job teaching in Oregon." I replied uneasily.

"Where are you from?" the question sounded harsher than before.

"Before I went to Denver I lived in Seattle." I answered carefully. I could tell she was looking for something.

"You went to high school there?" she continued.

"Yep, I was even on the volleyball team."

"The volleyball team." she mused to herself quietly. She looked up at me once more and then seemed to shake herself out of whatever mood she had been in before and returned to the normal behavior she had shown when we first arrived.

I couldn't shake the chill of how she had reacted to seeing me. Could she be a connection to my missing past? Or was it something else?

I sat back and listened to the conversation going on. Eventually Janice moved into the kitchen and joined the conversation. She even seemed to enjoy herself laughing and talking with them.

I couldn't help but feel out of place. Like I was close to where I was supposed to be, but I was also nowhere near it. I shook off the feeling and tried to focus on the conversation, but the chill that had began with my car was growing to a gnawing fear that said that I wouldn't like what I found.

_Thanks to everyone who's read, reviewed, favorited, etc. Thanks for taking the time to read my story._


	12. Bella or Abby?

"Mom, I'm home." a voice interrupted the conversation they had been having for over an hour. While I sat there and listened.

"What took you so long?" his mother asked as she placed a casserole in the oven. The woman looked like she came right out of a cooking magazine, with the oven mitts and apron on. She looked extremely fashionable even in the cooking wear.

"I ran into Jessica." he said hesitantly as he entered the kitchen.

"Oh dear." she said under her breath as she wiped her hands on a cloth and walked over to where we were sitting.

"Hey, Cuz." Mike and Michael greeted each other with a series of pounding each other on the back. I had to wonder why guys did that.

"This is Janice and Abigail." Michael introduced us when they had finished with their strange greeting.

Mike didn't even look at me instead he turned to look at Janice.

"Nice to meet you." he shook Janice's hand with a warm smile. He seemed to hold her hand slightly longer than necessary.

When he finally turned to greet me his eyes grew wide and he blinked several times. He didn't pale like his mother, but his coloring was suddenly off.

"Bella?" he asked in disbelief after several minutes of staring.

"No, Abby." Michael corrected him, oblivious to his cousin's reaction. I was suddenly seeing how truly unobservant Michael really was."Bella, everyone's been worried sick about you." Mike wrapped his arms around me in a hug completely ignoring his cousin.

"Who?" I asked him as I tried to work my way out of his arms. I had met some strange guys, but none of them had called me Bella and insisted on hugging me.

"Your parents, Us, the Cullen's, and even those Quileute guys." Mike loosened his grip so he could look at me, but he didn't release me. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"Not who missed Bella," I explained talking slowly, "Who is Bella?" I worked my way out of his arms and took several steps back.

"You are." he said raising his eyebrows.

"I'm Abigail." I repeated in denial that this was even possible.

"And I'm Prince William." he rolled his eyes.

"What's going on?" Janice asked Michael as she looked between Mike and I.

"I'm not sure." he told her.

"Neither am I. Janice and I are going to go now." I turned and moved toward the door, but Mike grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"You can't leave us again. It nearly destroyed your parents. Your mom and Phil got divorced and Charlie's been hanging the same fliers up looking for you for years. You can't leave again without, at least, talking to them. You owe them that much after what you put them through." His hand was firmly wrapped around my arm.

"I don't know what you're talking about. My parents abandoned me three years ago after I was in a car accident with a drunk driver. I owe them nothing." I pulled my arm from his grasp suddenly furious and stormed from the house.

"Abby!" I could hear voices calling after me, but I didn't stop.

I had just reached the car when I realized that I didn't have the keys.

"Great." I hissed under my breath as I contemplated my options. I finally ducked to the side of the car out of their sight.

"We'll call Charlie, he'll track her down." Michael's Aunt was saying.

"I think you need to explain to us what's going on before you do anything." Janice demanded.

"Yeah." Michael agreed turning to look at them.

They all went back inside and I could hear the door close.

My breathing seemed to speed up as I thought of the possibility that I really did come from here. That I had a family and friends that all lived in this small town.

It wasn't possible, so I wasn't going to get my hopes up that I had found a piece of my past. I would meet with the people they claimed were my parents, but I wouldn't believe they were without a blood test.

Even if this really did turn out to be my home. I wasn't Bella, I couldn't remember anything of this place. The only person I knew how to be was Abby and I wasn't going to change. I had worked hard to get myself to where I was and I wasn't going to give it all up just because I found my family.

"Not my family, Bella's family." I corrected myself as I pursued the possibility. This couldn't be happening.

_This has to be one of the hardest chapters I've done. Let me know what you think._


	13. Charlie

"Where do you want to meet them?" Janice asked as we sat in the car several hours after Mike's arrival home. I couldn't bring myself to go back inside and we had agreed to spend the night in the car parked in the driveway.

"I don't know." I admitted. My head was spinning and all I wanted to do was to go back to Denver and pretend this never happened.

"You could go meet them at the house." she suggested calmly.

"That would be overwhelming."

"So then you could meet at a public place." she tried again.

"And risk someone thinking that I'm Bella." I grabbed a pillow from the back seat and reclined my seat back.

"What if you are Bella?" she was already reclined in her seat.

"Even if I am Bella, I'm not really her. I don't know a single thing about her."

"What if you met at the doctor's office and had them do the blood test right away." she was staring up at the ceiling of the car. We could hear the rain falling outside.

"That seems kind of mean to do that to them, doesn't it?" I turned so that I could look out the window.

"I don't know. What I do know is that we have to get this taken care of."

"We can't just disappear into the night?" I was only half joking.

"Aren't you even a little bit curious about what you left behind? What if you have a high school sweetheart who's been waiting for you all this time?"

"If I did he's probably married or moved on by now. It's been three years." I pointed out.

"So you aren't the least bit curious?"

"Maybe a little bit." I agreed after several minutes of silence.

"So what are you going to do?" she asked the question I had been asking myself.

"I'll meet them at his house, but only if you come with me." I added quickly.

"I'm more curious then you are." she smiled.

"What if they want me to stay here?" I let several minutes pass as we listened to the rain pound the ground outside.

"You have to let them know that you aren't their daughter anymore. That their daughter died in a car crash and you're all that's left."

"I know." I watched a flash of lightening light up the sky.

"The rain kind of grows on you, doesn't it?" she asked.

"I've loved the rain since the accident. It was healing and soothing for me." I touched the window as I had hours earlier. Everything had changed since then, yet I still felt that same thrill of seeing the rain.

The morning dawned with the same overcast sky, but the rain had stopped for the time being. The grass was soaked and water ran freely in the streets. Nothing about this day seemed comforting.

"It's freezing." Janice complained as she pulled the blanket we kept stowed in the car around her.

"You'll get used to it." I pulled on a sweatshirt and then went around to the trunk to grab my bag.

Michael's aunt had left the house open for us and we were able to slip right inside. I beat Janice to the bathroom and took a shower.

Even the soothing warm water couldn't wash away the nerves that suddenly filled me.

I plugged in my blow dryer and pulled my make up bag from the suit case I had laid out on the floor.

It took me 20 minutes to get my hair and make up done to my satisfaction and another 20 to decide on an outfit.

I had some anxiety over the fact that my hair was still dark black from when I had dyed it. I was sure my "father" was expecting was to have the same brunette hair I had woken up with. Charlie didn't want to get Renee's hopes up until he was sure I was Bella.

Finally, after Janice told me that she would break down the door if I stayed in there any longer I decided on a pair of designer jeans I had spent my personal savings money on and a mint green shirt that reminded me of Washington. It had been one of the first things I bought after the accident.

"I'm done." I told her when I passed her in the hall.

"About time." she replied with a smile.

"Charlie is anticipating your arrival and I'm sure that he'll want you to meet with Renee soon." Mrs. Newton said when I entered the kitchen.

"They're divorced, aren't they?" I was careful to let nothing but curiosity enter my voice.

"They got married fresh out of high school and Renee wasn't one for small towns. She left him a short while after she had you." she explained carefully, as if she were waiting for me to burst into tears.

"Then she remarried a guy name Phil?" I checked.

"Then they got a divorce." she confirmed as she took a sip of orange juice from a cup.

"Not exactly the family I imagined." I murmured as I poured myself a cup in response to her gesturing for me to get some.

"We don't always get what we hope for." she said quietly as she went through a newspaper.

"Where's Michael?" Janice asked when she entered the kitchen looking completely put together.

"Mike and him went down to help my husband with the store." she showed us an add ,that was for their store, in the newspaper.

"You don't look like the out doors type." Janice commented as she read through the add.

"I'm not, I take care of the business stuff and he takes care of all the out doors things. I stay home with the girls while my husband takes all the boy cousins camping." she admitted.

"That's the way I would do it." I agreed with her as I glanced at a picture of the her and her husband on their wedding day, that was hanging on the wall. They looked so completely happy.

I knew that I wanted that in my marriage. The balance that she seemed to have. He would take care of one part of things and I would take care of another. I wanted my husband and I to be a team and to work together. I wanted us both to be equals.

"We should get going." Janice said the words I was dreading hearing.

"Thanks for breakfast Mrs. Newton." I smiled as I snagged my jacket off the back of one of the chairs in the kitchen.

"Don't call me Mrs. Newton, it reminds me of my mother in-law. You can just call me Aunt Olivia or Aunt Liv." she insisted.

"Ok." I agreed as I slipped the jacket on and we headed to the car.

"Everything will be ok." Janice insisted as we followed the directions Aunt Liv had given us to Charlie's house.

"I know." I tried to remain calm, but I really felt like I was going to throw up.

"Here we are." she pulled into a driveway next to a police cruiser.

"I can't do this." I panicked.

"You can do this." she insisted forcefully as she got out of the car.

I reluctantly got out and followed her. She pressed the doorbell once and then we waited for several agonizing minutes before the door opened.

"Bella?" a middle aged man asked as he looked at me.

"Actually my name is Abigail Johnson." I spoke with a strong clear voice even though I felt like I was going to faint.

"Why don't you come in and we can talk?" he stepped aside and Janice and I both stepped through the door.

"I'm Janice Rockwell, Abigail's roommate." Janice introduced herself as we took a seat in the living room.

Most of the space was taken up by a big screen TV. That I was sure was used quite frequently. The furniture looked worn, but well taken care of.

We lapsed into an awkward silence. He didn't seem to be one who liked to talk, or even knew what to say.

"Where have you been?" he finally asked me.

"I'm attending the University of Denver to become a teacher." I answered easily. I had talked about my dream of teaching so much that it was natural to talk about it now.

"Why didn't you tell us where you were? Why did you just disappear?" Charlie asked with a voice thick with emotion.

"Mr. Swan," I began carefully, "I was in a car accident three years ago that caused me to lose all of my memories. The only memory I've regained is the memory of the accident. I can't even guarantee I'm your missing daughter."

"I think I know my own daughter, even if she did dye her hair and decide to stop dressing in sweats and t-shirts." he looked a little more comfortable now.

I could hear Janice's intake of breath at what Charlie's daughters fashion sense had been.

"Maybe your sure, but I want a blood test to make sure that you really are my parent." I cut right to the chase.

"I suppose that's only fair." he said after several long moments of silence.

"There was no missing person report filed after the accident." I stared down at my hands I had twined in my lap.

"I was gone, on a fishing trip in Alaska. By the time I got back we had no idea how long you had been gone, or what had happened. We thought you eloped with your boyfriend and by the time they proved they hadn't the trail was cold." he explained.

"Was I the type to elope with my boyfriend?" I asked horrified.

"You were usually a very mature girl, but when it came to that boy he could talk you into doing anything. When he moved away you sunk into a depression that I never thought you'd come out of. Then you disappeared for four days and when you came back he was with you." I could hear the distaste in his voice as he talked about him.

"You didn't like him?" Janice asked.

"No, I didn't. He wasn't good for you. He was like a drug, you couldn't live without him." Charlie explained watching me carefully for a reaction.

"Where is he now?" I asked as I absently tapped my feet.

"He still lives here with his family." Charlie leaned back in his seat.

"I'll call the hospital and see if they can fit us in, tomorrow." I told Charlie getting up. It was suddenly too much to take.

"Make sure that it isn't with a Dr. Cullen." Charlie said quickly.

"Ok." I agreed, too tired to ask what he had against the doctor. Janice and Charlie both got up with me.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Charlie told us as we walked to the car. He smiled and I had a feeling it was for the first time in a long time.

"Ok." I told him as I got in.

Things seemed to be getting even more complicated then they were in the beginning.


	14. Breaking Point

It stormed all through the night and into the early morning. It was still drizzling when we left the hotel room we had checked into the day before.

"So how long will it take for them to find out if they're your parents?" Janice asked as she fiddled with an umbrella. We had just pulled into the small Forks Hospital parking lot.

"I should know a few hours after they draw the blood." I told her as I pulled my jacket closer to my body.

"What will you do if they aren't your parents?" she pushed the door open and we entered the small waiting room.

"I'll leave and never come back." I didn't want to be a reminder to the poor man of his daughter and it wouldn't be fair for him to have to see me again.

I stopped at the main desk were a woman was going through files.

She had chocolate brown hair and a frown that looked plastered on her face. She easily looked like the kind of woman who would claim the title of town gossip.

"I have an appointment." I tried to get her attention.

"I'll need your." she froze as she looked up at me.

"It's an appointment for Abigail Johnson." I explained ignoring the woman's reaction.

"Your daughter?" she asked with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Myself." I let my tone come out curt. I was tired of the reaction I was getting from every person in this town. I thought it was an exaggeration when people said that everyone knew everyone in small towns, but apparently I was wrong.

"Sorry, you look just like a girl my daughter went to high school with, Isabella Swan, do you know her?" she asked curiously I could see the wheels turning in her mind.

"I don't." I said it with a tone that said I was done talking to her.

"The doctor's expecting you, you can go right back." she gestured to a door at the back of the office.

"Thank you, Ms. Stanley." I read the name plate that was sitting on the desk.

"I'll wait here." Janice told me taking a seat and grabbing a magazine from a table. She gave a look of annoyance at the receptionist as she opened the magazine.

"See you in a minute." I replied nervously as I made my way through the door.

"Ms. Johnson." a man in scrubs greeted me. He had grey hair that was cut short and a friendly smile that put you at ease. He looked exactly like I would imagine my grandfather would look like.

"Doctor Lightwood." I took a seat in one of the chairs and rolled up the sleeve of my shirt.

"Charlie was already here this morning." he informed me as he went through some of his medical supplies.

"When do you think I'll get the test results back?" I turned away as he jabbed the needle into my arm. I felt a brief pinch and then it was over.

"Later this afternoon." he told me as he placed a band-aid over the injection site. I could feel the beginning of a bruise. I hated getting blood drawn.

"Thank you." I pulled the sleeve back down and grabbed my purse, which I had discarded on the chair next to me. I was in a hurry to get out of the doctor's office. I couldn't stand any medical place, it brought back to many memories of the days after the accident.

"I'll call you myself." he told me. I deliberately didn't look at the blood as I left the room.

"Let's go." Janice told me. She had been waiting right outside the door and she had a frantic look on her face.

"What happened?" I asked when we got outside.

"The receptionist was calling one of her friends and talking about how Isabella Swan just walked into her office."

"Great." I hissed under my breath as we got in the car.

"You can't keep it a secret forever." Janice pointed out as I pulled into traffic.

"I didn't want everyone in the entire town to know yet." I said as I turned down Aunt Liv's street.

"Michael wants us to go to the beach in La Push with Mike and him today." she told me as I pulled into the driveway, she had recovered from our trip to the doctor's office.

"Anything to get us out of this town." I said.

We got out of the car and hurried up to the porch and out of the rain. She knocked on the door several times and then rang the bell.

"Hey, how did it go?" Michael asked when he answered.

"Fine." I didn't elaborate as we went inside.

"It's too cold for swimming, but we could have a picnic on the beach." Mike yelled from the kitchen. I could tell they had been making plans before we got here.

"That sounds like fun." Janice agreed as we set our jackets on one of the kitchen chairs.

"The rains supposed to stop this afternoon." he said from where he was making sandwiches.

"What do we do until then?" Janice asked as we both went behind the counter to help him.

"I was thinking we could show you the town. Maybe something will jog your memory." he added as he looked up at me.

I doubted that anything could give me my memory back. I had given up hope a long time ago that I would ever remember anything.

"Maybe if we're lucky we won't run into any of the Quileute's." Mike changed the subject.

"What's the matter with them?" Janice asked intrigued.

"Nothing I guess, they're just a strange group of people. There's this gang of guys that have been together since they were teenagers. They're giant, they look like they're twenty five when they're younger than us." he seemed to sulk at some memory he didn't share with us.

We finished making the sandwiches in silence. They were soon packed in plastic bags and loaded into a picnic basket with fruit, potato salad, and a bag of chips.

We took our car with Michael driving and me in the passenger seat. Mike and Janice sat in the backseat. Mike would occasionally point out places of interest, but he mostly stewed in silence.

I had no idea what had upset him so much, but I let it go. Hoping he would come out of it on his own.

"You remember how to drive to the beach?" Mike asked his cousin when he started to act more like himself.

"How could I forget, we spent almost every summer on that beach." he smiled.

"I took Jessica on our first date to the beach." he said wistfully as he stared out the window.

"What happened with Jessica?" Michael asked.

"She decided we needed space. I think the real reason is that she's in love with that Edward Cullen." he spat that name with complete distaste that bordered on the edge of hatred.

"Who's Edward Cullen?" I asked as I turned to look at him.

"You didn't know him." Mike said quickly.

"Doesn't everybody know everybody in this small town?" I smiled.

"The Cullen's keep to themselves." he said it with a finality that said this conversation was over.

"You're going to Washington State University, aren't you?" I changed the subject quickly.

"Yeah, I'm getting a business degree so I can help with the family business. Why do you want to be a teacher?" his tone lightened with the change of subject.

"I like to work with kids. I think I'll finish up with school and get a job as an English teacher in Oregon." I told him as I smiled at my dream.

"Why Oregon?" there was pure curiosity in his voice now. No trace of the irritation that had been there moments before.

"It's close to Washington and I want to get a job by the ocean. I would love to be able to look out the window and see the ocean every morning." I replied easily.

"So even if Charlie is your father, you won't come and live here?"

"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it." I admitted. I could see the water's edge coming up.

"It's beautiful." I breathed as I looked at the stormy sky reflected in the ocean. I couldn't imagine ever living in a place that was close enough to come here.

"Yeah." Mike agreed unimpressed.

We pulled into a parking lot and grabbed the basket from the back seat.

"I have a blanket in here somewhere." Michael muttered as he went through the mess in his trunk.

I barely heard him as I was distracted by a group of men sitting on the beach. They were having a barbecue and eating a large assortment of food. Some of them were playing a game of football and a group of girls sat talking.

"That's them." Mike hissed as he pulled me behind the car and out of their line of sight.

It suddenly occurred to me that Mike really didn't get along with a lot of guys that lived around here.

"What are you doing?" I pulled my arm out of his hand.

"They can't see us." he hissed as he grabbed me and pulled me down to the ground.

"What's your problem, they seem like perfectly nice people to me." I got up and dusted my clothes off.

"Stay away from them, Bella." he said lapsing into the name that I didn't want to be called.

"Abigail." I corrected him.

Janice was watching us in amusement, suppressing a smile and Michael was watching his cousin with embarrassment written all over his face.

"Let's eat in the car." Mike suggested as he got off the ground.

"Does your cousin do this a lot?" Janice asked.

"Sometimes he acts strange." Michael pulled a blanket from the back.

"It must be a family illness." I commented as I went over to help Janice carry the basket.

"Fine, be that way." Mike muttered as he trailed behind us. We made our decent down to the beach and selected a spot far away from the group having a barbecue. We all seemed to settle as we saw that the boys took no interest in us.

The boys immediately began eating the food, but I slipped off my shoes and walked through the cool sand to the water's edge. I had always wanted to feel the sand between my toes and the water lapping at my feet, but I had never had the opportunity, after the accident.

It seemed that my every thought was ended with the accident. It was like as hard as I tried I could never get rid of the gaping whole the accident had left. I could never forget or move on from the one event that had taken away the life I had once lived.

I let the water run up and hit my toes in a cool spray. I closed my eyes and felt the wind ruffle my hair. It was such an incredible feeling. I never wanted to leave this place, it seemed to erase the confusion and hurt.

It was then that I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked up from the beach and glanced over at the group having their barbecue.

One of the men in the group was watching me carefully with a look between disbelief and absolute adoration. I immediately began to fill self-conscious.

It was then that my cell phone began to ring.

"Hello?" I answered it stepping away from the water and moving back toward my friends.

"I just got the test results back and you are the daughter of Charlie Swan." The doctor's voice told me in a matter of fact tone. Almost as if he told people that they were some strangers daughter everyday, for all I knew maybe he did.

I could feel my breathing become shallow as it all became to much to bear. The world began to spin around me faster and faster. Then I fell into darkness.

_Thanks for reading._


	15. Unsettled

The first thing I became aware of was the aching head ache I had. I could hear a buzzing that alerted me to the fact that there was a crowd of people around me.

"Back up she needs air to breath." someone was saying when I finally tuned in.

"Do you think we should take her to the hospital?" I recognized Mike's voice.

"The last thing she needs it to wake up in another hospital." Janice replied.

I could feel a cold wash cloth being applied to my face.

"It was probably the change in altitude." Michael commented.

"Right." Janice didn't sound convinced.

I fought to come to the surface and open my eyes, but I was just to weak. My nerves were too frayed to come to full consciousness yet.

I drifted off again.

"She's coming to." a voice was saying.

"Are you sure?" Michael asked, I could feel him taking my pulse.

"I'm fine." I insisted before I opened my eyes. The light was blindingly bright and I was laying on the couch with a dozen or more eyes watching me. I noted that they were the same group from the beach. I could see Charlie sitting on a chair across the room next to a man in a wheel chair.

"Are you sure, you were out of it for twenty minutes." Janice watched me concerned.

"I'm sure it was the change in altitude, I haven't been drinking enough." I used the excuse Michael had said earlier.

"Here." Janice handed me a glass of water and I took several swallows, trying to avoid the eyes of every person in the room.

"Do you feel dizzy or nauseous?" Michael, the medical student, asked.

"Just a head ache." I told him.

"We'll keep an eye on it, but I won't force you to go to the doctor." he decided.

"Same old Bella, doesn't like to visit the hospital, but she's definitely accident prone." the man who had been watching me on the beach said.

"Abigail." I corrected absently as I grabbed my purse from the floor.

"Abigail?" he raised an eyebrow.

"My name is Abigail Johnson." I explained.

"You missed a call." Janice said when she saw the purse, trying to distract me from the conversation I had just started.

"I wonder who that could be, I just talked to the doctor." I pulled out the cell phone and picked up the message that they had left.

"Abigail Johnson, My name is Inspector Morris of the Denver Police Department. Your dorm and car have both been broken into and we have reason to believe that your life may be in danger. I need you to call me as soon as possible." He listed a number and then the message ended.

"We need to go, thank you for your hospitality." I told the group as I sat up carefully.

"It would really be better if you stayed down for a while, and Charlie said that Billy's like family." Michael gestured to a man that was sitting in a wheel chair.

"I have to make a call." I insisted stubbornly.

"Then you can make it from where you are." Michael said firmly.

"In front of the entire town of La Push and part of Forks?" I argued.

"Your other option is to make it from the hospital."

"I'm not kicking them out of their house and I'm not making a personal call in front of all of them."

"We'll be in the kitchen." one of them quickly caught on. The entire group shuffled themselves into the kitchen leaving only Janice in the room.

"What's the matter, Abby?" she asked when they were all gone.

"Someone broke into our dorm, they think that someone's after me." I explained quietly.

"Who would want to hurt you?" she asked.

"The same person who erased my memory." I whispered.

"I thought you were hit by a drunk driver?" her eyes had grown wider.

"It was a hit and run, no one saw the driver and they just assumed he was drunk."

I called the number he had left for me and waited as it rang. Janice was watching me carefully.

"Inspector Morris." a voice answered.

"This is Abigail Johnson." I held my breath.

"Ms. Johnson, I was hoping to hear from you. I hear you're out of town."

"I went on a road trip with my roommate and best friend."

"That's probably a good thing. The damage that was done to your car and dorm room was actually quite horrifying." there was an edge to his voice that said that there was more to what he was telling me.

"What do you recommend I do?" I asked finally.

"Stay where you are, and be alert. You should also know that a man name Jeffry Henson was killed outside your dorm building." he said it quickly as if it could ease the shock.

"Jeff's dead." I repeated. My mind refused to process the information.

"What?" I could hear Janice gasp.

"We'll be in touch within the next couple of days. Until then I suggest you lay low and stay where you are. I don't even want to know where you are." there was a grave note in his voice that made me realize how serious this really was.

"Thank you for informing me." my voice came out weak and squeaky.

"I'll be in touch." the phone clicked and I got a dial tone.

I collapsed against the couch and closed my eyes, willing this all to go away.

"I'm so sorry Abby." Janice said after several minutes. I could feel several tears go down my cheek.

"What if it's my fault he's dead?" I whispered.

"It's not, even if someone is after you it's not your fault."

"The last thing I did was snap at him." my voice was hoarse with tears.

"What now?" Janice asked.

"The police said to stay put and keep an eye out for suspicious people." I wiped the tears from my face.

"You weren't really being spontaneous were you?" she began to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

"Someone did something to my car. I was freaked, but I just thought it was some kind of college prank."

"Everything will be ok." Janice said, but I had a feeling it was more to persuade herself than me.

_Thanks for reading. I'll make the next chapter longer._


	16. Anya and Damon

**1350 A.D.**

"Damon." Anya greeted me with a curtsy. She looked tired and weary with deep circles under her eyes.

"Anya, how is your mother?" I asked politely.

"Her condition isn't improving. I fear she won't see another summer." she took my arm and we slowly began walking through the courtyard.

"What a strange thing, for a destiny to be ill. I have never heard of it happening before." she stared ahead betraying no emotion on her face.

"She misses my father." she finally said quietly. I could hear her own pain reflected in her voice.

"He was a good king. I can not imagine who would want him dead." she stopped and plucked a rose from one of the bushes that were beginning to blossom.

"William will take over now." her voice was weak and slightly accusing.

"You don't think William did it?" I asked her trying to keep my voice down.

"Who else had anything to gain from my father's death than my uncle?" she replied with another question, "He's the cause of the vampires. It's his offspring that are terrorizing half the world and it will only spread, I'm afraid."

"How could any of us know what the effects of the child and a destiny would be?" I defended our new king.

"Our family has ruled over the destinies for generations. My father himself ruled for five hundred years. It has always been the first born son and now the second son is in control of those of us that control the human world. He's already destroyed so much, how can he do anything but destroy more." she let the rose fall to the ground and stopped to look up at me with her blazing emerald eyes.

"Time will only tell." I replied as I tried to avoid the power that she held in that gaze.

"Perhaps." she agreed as she turned and started back the way we had came.

**1640 A.D. **

I watched Anya as she stood at the bow of the ship. She had her blue cloak's hood pulled up, covering her copper curls.

"Another place for William to pollute." she hissed as I came up behind her. She had become much more callous after the death of her mother.

"There may be hope for his newest son." I looked out at the crashing waves that the ship was charging through.

"I doubt it, his entire line is filled with tyrants. They all only look out for themselves." she spat.

"Perhaps we can prevent the spread of the vampire population in America."

"They're an almost indestructible breed they'll spread until there's nothing left." she looked at me with a hard gaze.

"He's organized the Volturi to promote order." I was still hoping for the best.

"If we don't do something then we have no hope left." she ignored my last statement as she turned her gaze back to the water.

"What if we created a species to protect the human world." I suggested.

"We already have one freak species that is slowly taking over the world, do we need another one?"

"We have to do something." I insisted.

**1890 London, England**

"Wolves, Anya?" we hurried through the streets.

"We had to do something." she echoed my words as she stepped around a puddle.

"What happened to one freak species being enough?" I spat her own words back at her.

"They aren't a new breed of species, I just altered the humans." we cut down a dark alley and paused as a light rain began to fall, "The vampires were taking over the world, something needed to stop them and keep the balance in order."

"Can anything set the balance after it's been affected so much?" I asked the question I had been mulling over for a long time.

"Time will only tell." she used the same words she had used such a long time ago.

The rain came down harder and the wind picked up.

"William." she murmured as she glanced up at the sky.

**1900 Forks, Washington**

"A good family of vampires?" Anya asked as she watched the vampires and wolves interact.

"He lived with the Volturi." I pointed out skeptically.

"Something must be done. The vampires have been out of control for a while now and the Volturi is far from a force that keeps the balance in order." she pulled at a strand of hair in her bun.

"Something needs to be done about William, himself. He's let this madness go on long enough."

"Then it's time to visit my uncle?" she looked at me with fire in her eyes.

"The balance has been tipping long enough."

**Present La Push, Washington**

"Done." Anya hissed as she watched the wolf lock eyes with the girl.

"Things are finally on track." I watched carefully.

"We're one step closer to taking William out of power." she agreed.

The girl talked on her phone for several minutes and then came up the beach. We watched as she fainted and the pack hurried over to help. They carried her back to the Black's house and laid her on the couch.

"Is it time to return her memories?" Anya asked as we watched.

"She's not ready to follow her destiny yet. She needs more time to come to adjust to things."

"And what of Victoria?" she played with a pendant on her neck.

"She is of no moment, we can handle her later." we watched the house carefully as a slight drizzle of rain began to fall from the sky.

She pulled her hood over her curls and we sat in silence, just watching. As we had for centuries.

_Thanks for reading. _


	17. Missing

"Abigail, huh?" The one who had watched me at the beach, Jacob, asked. I had received introductions when they all reentered the living room. The group had all left and Michael was taking Mike home and then coming back to pick me up. He wanted me to have as much rest as possible.

Janice lay asleep on the other couch and Charlie and Billy were talking in the kitchen.

"I liked the name and it was something to call me by." I defended myself.

"You dyed your hair." he commented after several seconds had gone by.

"I needed to have something that I remembered doing." I ran my hand through my long black hair and he took a seat on the couch next to me.

"We looked everywhere for you, but you disappeared without a trace." There was guilt in his voice.

"I was in the hospital at Port Angles for three weeks before I was sent to a special hospital in Seattle that specialized in memory loss. The only memory I've gotten back was the accident."

"So you can remember what happened?" he was watching me intently now.

"I was on my way home from a book store," I paused as I tried to recall all of the events, "A car came out of nowhere and rammed into me. Then I woke up in the hospital." I knew there was more to the accident then that, but the memory had become fuzzy and I couldn't remember everything.

"How long were you in Seattle?" He was trying to figure out why he hadn't been able to find me.

"Just until graduation, then I got accepted to the University of Denver and I left. There wasn't anything keeping me here." I found that it was easy to talk to Jacob. He had a way of putting me at ease and making me reveal more than I had originally intended.

"What about your family?"

"I didn't know I had family here. For all I knew I could have been on vacation when I got in the accident. I just wanted to feel normal. I wanted to go to school and have friends and live for now instead of trying to find a past." I explained my reasoning.

"You don't sound a thing like you used to." he told me after another several minutes of silence.

"What was I like?" I leaned my head against the back of the couch.

"When you first moved in with Charlie you were sad. I got the feeling that you didn't really like Washington, but you were doing it for your mother. Then you met your boyfriend and I didn't see you anymore. We really started hanging out after he left. You were in some kind of giant depression, you were always trying to hold yourself together. You were just starting to get better when you went after him and he came back and I didn't see you anymore." I could hear that he was keeping something from me, but I didn't push it.

"Bella and I aren't anything alike," I mused, "Even after the accident I never let myself get depressed I kept moving forward and doing what I thought was best. She sounds so insecure and unsure of herself, but I know exactly what I want and I'm not letting anyone get in my way."

"I think that's a better way to look at things." he agreed.

"What are you doing with your life?" I asked trying to lighten the mood and remove the focus from me.

"I'm going to business school and I want to open up my own garage." he explained as a smile spread across his face.

"So you like to fix cars?"

"We used to sit in my make-shift garage in the back and you would watch me fix cars. That's how we originally started hanging out. You wanted me to fix some bikes."

"Bikes as in motorcycles?" that sounded completely reckless. Not the kind of thing that I would do, but Bella was a completely different person.

"Yep." he popped the p.

"Did we do reckless stuff a lot?" I watched his face. It seemed to be able to hold so much emotion ranging from melancholy to happy and carefree.

"Reckless? You jumped off a cliff." I could hear the strain in his voice now as if we were nearing something he didn't want to talk about.

"Off a cliff." I repeated swallowing.

"It was cliff diving, recreational, but you still almost died." there seemed to be a double meaning in his words, but I still wasn't comfortable asking.

"Are you happy with your normal life?" he asked after several we had sat in silence for awhile.

"There's always been a hole. That no amount of memories that I make now can fill up. As much as I tried to be normal that hole kept holding me back." I was playing with a strand of hair again, trying to avoid looking at him.

"I'm glad your back, Bells." his voice was light again.

I couldn't bring myself to say that I was glad to be back. How could I go back to living her life without any memories of it?

"Renee want to meet you for lunch tomorrow." Charlie said as he entered the room.

"Ok." She deserved to see her daughter, even if her daughter wasn't the same person she once had been.

"Are you staying with Michael?" Charlie coughed uncomfortably.

"No, Janice and I are staying at a hotel in Port Angeles."

"Your welcome to stay with me if you like. It might save you some money on the hotel room that you can use for college expenses." Charlie told me not meeting my gaze.

"I'll talk to Janice." Even if he was my father, he was still a stranger to me. "Do you have any of my things?" I asked him.

"I haven't touched a thing in your room." he promised.

"I think it might give me a sense of who I was, maybe even jog some memories to see my room." I explained.

"Your welcome to come and see it whenever you want, after all it's yours." he assured me.

"Is Michael back yet?" Janice rubbed her eyes as she sat up. Finally awake.

"Not yet." I glanced at the clock. He had been gone for over an hour and thirty minutes.

"I'll call Mike's house." she grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and stepped into the kitchen.

"How do you know Janice?" Jacob asked m I could tell he was moving towards something.

"She's my roommate." I explained watching his face carefully to try to see what he was getting at.

"And Michael?" Charlie suddenly seemed to be paying closer attention as Jacob asked about Michael.

"He was one of my first friends I met at the university. He's been a really good friend to me." I added emphases on the friend.

"Mike and Michael haven't showed up at the house yet." Janice said as she reentered the room.

"What do you mean, they've had plenty of time to get back." I began gnawing on my lip nervously. Whoever was after me couldn't have found me yet, could they?

_Thanks for reading._


	18. Surprises

My eyes instantly went to the window, where a storm was brewing. The clouds blotted out the moon leaving the view beyond the window a dead black. I could hear the wind's loud howl coming repeatedly. It was after several seconds of listening to this strange noise that I realized it wasn't the wind, but a wolf.

"Did you try his cell phone?" I snapped back to reality and looked back at Janice.

Jacob was watching the door like he was resisting running towards it.

"Jacob, why don't you go get some friends and see if they're anywhere near the highway." Billy suggested as he too looked at the door.

"Ok." he agreed, relieved as he hurried out before I could say anything.

"We don't really know they're missing, we don't have to send out a search party yet." I told him.

"Better safe than sorry, Bella." he said in his gruff voice.

For once I let it pass and didn't correct him on my name.

"He's not answering his cell phone." Janice came back into the room. Worry lined her face.

"I'll go look along the road in the cruiser." Charlie finally said as he moved toward the door.

"I'll go with you." Janice quickly volunteered going after him.

For some reason I didn't volunteer to go. I felt frozen in place as if I couldn't move or speak. Things were moving around me, but I couldn't react.

"We'll find them." Charlie assured me as he left with Janice in tow.

I still couldn't move.

"I need to make a phone call, will you be ok in here?" Billy asked me.

"Sure." I regained control of my body and moved to the couch limply.

He rolled out of the living room and into the kitchen. Several minutes later I could hear his voice quietly talking to someone on the phone.

"Go, find them." the same voice I had heard when I remembered the accident said.

I got up and grabbed my jacket moving out the door and down the street. I knew it was stupid to go out in the beginning of a storm, but I felt compelled by the voice. It brought on a sense of urgency that I had to move and find them.

I hurried up the road just as the first rain drops began to fall. They started gently and built up to a rage. The wind whipped around me and pushed the rain in my face. I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me.

I kept moving forward. There was something I needed to see, I just wasn't sure what it was.

I wasn't sure how long I had been walking when I saw a car up ahead. It was at the side of the road laying on its side. I could see that the windows were shattered as I came closer.

"Hello?" I called out, but my voice was swallowed in the wind.

I moved toward the car and saw Mike in the driver's seat. His head was cut open and blood ran down his face. Michael was next to him, a jagged cut ran from his jaw line to his neck.

"Michael? Mike?" I called, not sure how to proceed.

Suddenly I saw something move in the trees. A flutter of dark hair and then something spoke from behind me.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time." a voice purred in my ear.

"Who are you?" I demanded turning to face the stranger.

She looked dangerous. Every one of my senses told me to turn and run.

"Not so fast." she read my thoughts playing across my face.

"The police are on their way." I lied stepping back.

"You mean the one stray cruiser that just passed by here." she smiled.

"Why me?" I asked as I took another step back. I was looking for anything I could use as a weapon.

"It's only fair that I kill his mate." her eyes watched me carefully.

I was sure that she was delusional now. She probably was some kind of mentally ill serial killer.

"Who's mate?" I tried to stall as my eyes searched frantically.

"Don't play dumb, Isabella Swan. You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's too bad your boyfriend and wolves aren't around to stop me now." she moved toward me with a graceful slowness. She was almost too me, one more step. I forced my eyes shut and then I felt something shoot past me knocking her to the ground.

I opened my eyes and saw a giant russet wolf. I could feel a scream building up in me as I watched the two fight. This couldn't be happening.

Several more wolves jumped in to help the first.

My scream came out in a shriek that was lost in the wind. The russet wolf turned to look at me with familiar black eyes and I turned and tripped over a stick landing hard on the ground. I heard a wolves howl and then, for the second time that day, everything went black.

"Abby?" someone was asking, when I finally came too. I could smell the sterile smell I hated.

"Janice?" I forced my eyes open and found that I was laying in a hospital room.

"They insisted that you had to get checked out, but you're free to go as soon as you talk to a doctor." she explained as I looked around.

"Who's my doctor?" I could feel the bruises from falling.

"He's some weird Doctor, I think it's Dr. Cullen."

_Thanks for reading._


	19. Bella

"Dr. Cullen?" I could remember Charlie's discomfort with the doctor.

"Yeah, he's strange. With pale skin and blond hair, but the real weird thing is his eyes. They're gold." she whispered.

"Gold?" I asked in disbelief. I hadn't ever heard of anyone having gold eyes.

"You'll see for yourself." she shrugged as she sat back in the chair.

"How long was I out?"

"The rest of last night." she told me easily.

"What happened to Michael and Mike?" I could remember seeing them in the wreck and something about wolves.

"They're in the intensive care unit. Mike has a severe concussion and is in a coma. Michael lost a lot of blood, but they think he'll be fine." she informed me.

"You told his mother?" I checked.

"She's been here the entire time and I finally met that Jessica girl. She reminds me of the mean girl in high school." she shuddered from her seat.

"What happened?" I tried to get better mental images of what happened, but I was too tired to come up with anything more than them in the car.

"They think that a bear or a wolf made them swerve from the road and their car rolled." That seemed to trigger some kind of memory, but I couldn't access it.

"They can't tell the difference between a bear and a wolf?" I asked skeptically.

"There were reporting's of giant animals a couple of years ago, but they never could decide whether it was a giant wolf or a bear." she explained.

"Ms. Swan." a man greeted me as he entered with a chart.

"You must be Dr. Cullen." I was shocked to see that his eyes really were gold.

"You're free to leave as soon as you sign these papers." he handed me the stack watching me carefully.

"Ok." I agreed, trying to avoid his gaze as I signed the lines.

"You can't remember anything?" he asked when I handed the papers back.

"No." I felt uneasy around his penetrating stare.

"Have you seen Edward yet?" I could tell he was trying to set me up for something.

"No." I could remember Mike's warning about Edward Cullen.

"He wants to talk to you if you have a moment."

"I really don't." I declined as I pulled myself out of the hospital bed.

He left without another word.

"Do you want to go see Mike and Michael?" Janice asked as she handed me a bag of my clothes.

"Yeah." I agreed as I went into the bathroom to change.

We left the hospital room and were just about to go around the corner to the hall where Mike and Michael were when we heard an argument.

"You can't deny me the right to see her. She isn't on your land." a smooth voice was saying.

"You wanted her to have a normal life and she has it. Are you so selfish that you'll deny her that?" Jacob asked.

"I just want to talk to her." he stayed firm.

"Then let's get one thing straight. She is mine." Jacob hissed dangerously.

"If she chooses you, mutt." the velvety voice said.

"She's not the same person you knew before." Jacob added smugly.

Janice grabbed my arm and pulled me in the other direction. We cut down another hall and paused for a second to talk.

"What was that?" I asked her.

"You don't think they were talking to you?" she added her own question.

"I doubt it." I shrugged it off.

"Who argues in a hospital?" Janice and I walked down the hall taking an alternate route to their rooms.

"Hey." I greeted Michael when we entered his room. He was heavily bandaged and sitting up in his bed eating broth. An IV was attached to his hand and he looked to fragile.

"Hey." he tried to sound cheerful, but I could tell he wasn't feeling well.

"How are you feeling?" I took a seat in one of the chairs by the bed and Janice sat in another.

"I've been better. How are you?" he asked as he pushed the empty bowl aside.

"Just bruised." I assured him.

"Have you heard anything about Mike?" he asked trying to hide the emotion in his voice at the thought of losing his cousin. He had made it clear that his cousin was like a brother to him.

"No." Janice answered this time. She had scooted in close to him and taken a hold of his hand. His own hand twined through hers.

"I'm going to go check on Mike." I stood up hiding my smile from them. I knew it was only a matter of time before the two got together.

"If it isn't Miss Disappearing Swan." a voice said as I left the room.

I turned to face a girl with dark brown hair that was long and pulled back in a pony-tail. She had sunglasses on her head, even though we never saw the sun here, and long acrylic nails. I knew who she was the minute I saw her. Janice's description of the mean girl in high school had been dead on.

"You must be Jessica, Mike's ex-girlfriend." I put emphasis on the ex. I couldn't suppress the irritation that rose up inside me.

"We have an off and on relationship." she folded her arms and glared at me.

"Then it's a good solid one." I said sarcastically as I folded my own arms.

"What would you know about a relationship? You only dated Edward Cullen in high school." the words didn't stun me as they should have. I had already suspected by the way people acted when they talked about him that he was my boyfriend in high school.

"I'm not in high school anymore, but apparently you still act like it." I lashed out at her.

"That's right, you forgot everything and now you're living a completely different life." she gave me a look that said that she didn't believe it at all.

"What it must be like to be the mean girl that everyone hates." I said thoughtfully before I turned and walked down the hall, leaving her behind.

I failed to see the two shocked men that were watching my retreating form.

"Charlie." I found him sitting in the waiting room.

"Bella, you had me so worried." he got up and hugged me. I stood stiffly until he let go.

"I'm fine." I assured him as I stepped back several steps.

"I haven't told your mother yet, she's still expecting you for lunch. If you're still up to it."

"I'll meet her." I told him.

"If you're feeling up to it." he looked at me concerned.

"I'm fine, really," I insisted, "I'm going to go talk to Janice and then I need to go and shower."

"You're welcome to come do it at home. It may be easier then going to your hotel room in Port Angeles."

"I'll think about it." I told him quickly. He handed me a key and I slipped it into my purse.

I followed the endless maze of halls back towards the rooms.

"Bella." the same velvety voice greeted me. I was almost to the rooms. I kept moving hoping to avoid him. I could feel his eyes on my back as I entered.

"Ready to go?" Janice asked quietly. Michael was asleep snoring softly.

"Do we have transportation?" I asked as an image of the shattered car went through my head.

"I picked up our car from Mike's house last night." she explained as we left the room. I purposely steered her in the direction I hadn't heard Edward.

"Where to?" Janice asked when we were in the car.

"You want to stop at Charlie's house? I want to see my old room, before we go back to Port Angeles." I told her.

"Ok." she agreed.

The drive to the house was unusually quiet. When we reached it and had stopped in the driveway I got out.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Janice asked as she watched me.

"You wait here, this is something I need to do for myself." I told her.

I walked the steps to the door slowly and then slipped the key from my purse and into the lock. It opened easily and I stepped inside the empty house. I found the stairs and moved up them slowly.

It was easy to tell which room was mine. It was the only closed door on the top floor.

My hand hesitated on the doorknob and then I turned it and forced the door open.

The room itself seemed strange. Dust layered almost everything, yet the room still looked lived in. The bedspread was rumpled as if I hadn't taken the time to properly make it. Clothes were bunched up in the corner behind an old rocking chair. An ancient computer sat on a desk.

I moved toward the dresser that had several framed pictures on it. I saw one of Bella standing next to a man, I assumed was Edward. She looked uncomfortable as if she didn't think she belonged there. Next to that picture was one of her with Jacob, they were sitting in a car, in what I assumed to the Jacob's garage and laughing. She seemed truly happy when she was with him.

It was strange to see her as an insecure, unsure person. Even next to Jacob who she looked happy with she was wearing sweats. She looked like the girl who would hide in the back of the class and hoped someone would notice her. Had Edward been that someone?

I moved over to the closet and looked through her clothes. They were bland and mostly long sleeved. The one exception was a dress that I assumed she had worn to prom. It looked bright and colorful, I was sure that she hadn't picked it out.

I went over to her window and looked out at the street below. There was a tree that was by the window. I had to wonder whether she had ever snuck out by climbing down that tree. She had been reckless, hadn't she?

The room was depressing. I could tell that she wasn't like me in any way. I was sure of myself and confident and she had been reckless and insecure. The thick layer of dust that hung over the room only served to tell that she was gone and I wouldn't be letting her come back. I was happy with my life and the way I am, and I wasn't changing. Not to become her.

I left the room and closed the door behind me. I took the stairs much faster then I had before and made sure the front door was locked before I went back to the car.

"What did you think?" Janice asked when I reached the car.

"I don't know." I turned and looked out the window, just as rain began to fall.\

_Thank's for reading and thanks to everyone's who had reviewed/favorited/etc._


	20. Renee

I took a quick shower as soon as we reached the hotel. The hot water seemed to wash away all of my worries, if only for a little while.

In truth I was terrified to meet my mother and even more worried about Michael and Mike. I had only known Mike for a few days, but I had heard stories about him since I met Michael. I had no idea what it would do to their family if one of them didn't make it.

I got out of the shower and rung out my hair. I had grabbed the first set of clothes I had found when I had gotten into the hotel room, and I ended up dressed in a navy blue sweater and a pair of jeans. I took my time doing my make up and even decided to curl my hair.

None of what I did took my mind of my concerns.

"You look fine." Janice commented from her bed. Where she lay reading a text book for school.

"I know, I'm just nervous." I replied as I put everything away.

"You weren't this nervous to meet Charlie." she pointed out, automatically assuming that I was only nervous in meeting Renee.

"I was still in shock." I stepped from the bathroom with my arm load of things and stuffed them in my open suitcase on the bed.

"Whatever." she flipped the page.

"Why don't we talk about you and Michael." I smirked as I set the case back on the floor. If felt normal to tease her. We teased each other about everything, but even I could detect the flat note in my voice.

"There's nothing to talk about." she insisted. I could tell she was trying not to think about things too.

"Right." I rolled my eyes, but my heart wasn't in it.

"Are you leaving now?" she dismissed me as she tossed me the keys.

"Will you be ok by yourself?" I asked.

"I'm a big girl. Have fun."

I stalked out of the hotel room and to our car. I shuddered when I saw the single red rose tucked into my windshield wipers. I didn't stop to read the note that was attached, I merely tossed the rose into a puddle.

I was too stressed and terrified of what had happened to look at the note. I had seen way to many horror movies.

I drove to the small restaurant in Port Angeles that Renee wanted to meet at. I parked in the parking lot and hoped for the best as I grabbed my purse and entered. I was right on time.

I ordered a salad and sat down at a booth that gave me an entire view of the parking lot.

I waited for an hour, and was getting ready to go when a woman hurried out of her car and toward the building.

Her hair was cut to her shoulders and bounced as she moved. She wore long black dress pants and a brown shirt that brought out her eyes.

She hurried in and looked around frantically. When she saw me she looked relieved and she hurried to my table.

"Bella." she embraced me. I stayed stiff unsure of how to proceed.

"Renee?" I checked as she released me.

"Yes." her smile seemed to waver as she took me in. I could see her assessing me and looking for any sign other than appearance that I was her Bella. She finally took a seat across from me and folded her arms on the table.

"You really don't remember anything?" her voice came out sad and hurt.

"No." I kept my voice even and emotionless.

"How have you been?" she tried to lighten things as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Fine, I'm going to school at the University of Denver to become a teacher. I want to move to Oregon and teach." I repeated the same thing I had said so many times.

"Why Oregon?" she watched me with her eyes that looked like they saw everything.

"I want to be near the ocean." I told her.

"Not someplace warm?" I could tell she was trying to find some trace of her daughter.

"I miss the rain, but I don't really want to live in Washington. I have too many bad memories here. Oregon has similar weather and I can be around the ocean. It's a place where I can have a fresh start." I explained.

"Why a teacher?" she was still watching me closely.

"I like to work with kids." I replied trying to sound easy going.

"You don't sound anything like you used to." she stated after we had been quiet for several minutes.

"I didn't have anything to go off of when I woke up. I had to become my own person and take care of myself." my voice was stronger now.

"Will you ever get your memory back?" she asked the question no one else had dared to.

"No one knows." I tucked my hair behind my ear.

"But there's still hope."

"Even if I do remember, I can't go back to being that same person again. Too much has happened since then. I won't become that insecure, reckless person." I tried to say it softly, but I came out more firmly then I intended.

"I wouldn't expect you too. If there's one thing that's still the same about you, I'm sure it's your stubbornness. I think your independence and personality are a little more defined now, but I still see small traces of the daughter I raised in you. You changed when you came to Washington. You weren't always insecure, things happened here and you made choices that made you a different person. I think I'm almost happy to see you acting like you know who you are and where you're going, rather then having you remember." Renee wasn't smiling, but her voice didn't sound depressed as it once had.

"What was I like?" I asked. I wanted to compare Jacob's answer to hers.

"When you lived with me you were timid. You were never one of the popular girls, but you had friends. You took care of yourself, and at times me too. I did a lot of crazy things and you were always by my side to try to talk me out of it or do it with me. You were responsible and you worked hard at school. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter, of course then you chose to live with your father and you met a boy. You suddenly always felt that you weren't good enough and you had to measure up to him." her voice became furious as it reached the end.

"Did I really let one boy influence me?"

"He was charming and gracious. I'm sure you were flattered that he was paying attention to you. I even liked him for a time, but then I saw how different you had become. You seemed to distance yourself from me and Charlie, you stopped hanging out with your friends that weren't the Cullens." her eyes seemed to become as stormy as the clouds outside as she talked.

"I have to go." I murmured as I grabbed my purse. I felt overwhelmed and confused, I needed time to process and work things through.

"I want to get together again before you leave, I want to be a part of your life." Renee pleaded as I got up.

"Ok." I agreed. I knew she wanted more that that, but I wasn't ready to let these strangers fill the roles of my parents. I needed time.

When I got back to the hotel Janice was waiting for me by the curb.

"We need to go to the hospital." she said as she opened the door when I pulled up to the curb.

"Why?" I asked immediately concerned as I pulled out onto the road.

"Michael isn't doing well. They think he punctured a lung and they're just barely catching it." I could hear the irritation in her voice.

"What about Mike?" worry was filling up inside me.

"The longer he's in the coma the less likely he is to wake up." she said it as if she had heard it a million times.

"What do they do about his lung?" I asked trying to distract myself from the worry that was eating me alive.

"They have to take him in for surgery. I want to be there." she told me.

"Everything will be ok." I repeated the words she had told me so many times before.

"What if they aren't?" tears were streaming down her face now.

"I don't know." I admitted as I fought my own tears.

_Thanks for reading._


	21. Reaching the Limit

I hated hospitals. Nothing good had ever happened to me there and I was sure that nothing ever would. I hated the neutral colors and the smell that screamed of antiseptic. I hated all the green and blue scrubs. I was sure that they had to come in more colors then that. Was there some kind of rule that said everything had to be dull and uniform in a hospital?

The first fifteen minutes were bearable. I kept the goal firmly in mind that I needed to be there for Mike and Michael. Aunt Liv was sitting in with her son and Janice sat in one of the chairs with an empty look on her face. I knew I couldn't leave them.

By twenty I began to have illusions of the walls closing in around me. I had never been claustrophobic, but I had managed to gain a new understanding of those that were.

I managed to make myself sit there for three hours. I worked through the claustrophobia, but as soon as that was gone I began to fill nauseous of the smell. A head ache soon came after and finally it became to much.

"I'm going to go out for some air." I told Janice.

"Ok." she put an optimistic smile on her face for me and as I left I watched as she slouched back down into her depression. I knew that the right thing to do would be to stay with her, but I had reached my breaking point.

I left the hospital and leaned against a pillar outside the building. It felt so good to be able to breath again. I felt as if I had been stuck under water and was finally coming up for air.

After several minutes I walked slowly to the car and got in. There were only a few places I knew where to go in this part of Washington and only one of them that I felt drawn to.

I felt my eyes scanning the road for the place the accident had been as I drove to La Push. The car had been removed, but the place still showed signs of the accident. Car parts were strewn across the road and into the grass. I could see skid marks on the road, but they were an unusual shape for Mike to have steered off the road.

I pulled my own car to the side and got out to look more closely at the marks. The way they were, suggested that the car hadn't swerved but had been pushed. It was a ridiculous idea, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something different then what I had been told had happened.

I moved over into the grass and found that there was a section that was burnt. It looked more man made then from the car by the shape it was in.

I couldn't help the chill that went through me as I observed the unusual way the remainder of the accident looked.

I tried to shake it off as I got back in the car, but something wouldn't let me. I tucked the information in the back of my mind for further assessment later.

I drove to the beach where I had walked, what felt like, so long ago. Had it really been yesterday?

I left my shoes in the car and walked the beach barefoot. It felt good to have the sand under my feet and between my toes. It reminded me of why I had wanted to move to the ocean in the first place.

As I walked the rest of my worries and cares seemed to go away. I was able to forget about all that was going on and enjoy the peaceful quiet.

There was a mist in the air and I felt the occasional rain drop. The water crashed against the sand furiously. It was the kind of weather that some people would hate, but I found it calm and soothing.

"What are you doing here?" I recognized Jacob's voice before I turned to look at him.

"I needed to get away for a while." I replied easily. I had forgotten my worries for the moment.

"Are you feeling better?" he fell into step beside me.

"Physically." my emotional state wasn't in the best of shape.

"What about mentally?" there was a smile in his voice right now as if he knew what I was thinking by the emotions on my face.

"I've been better." I tried to push the unwelcome thoughts from my mind. I couldn't get the image of Michael looking so fragile from my head.

"What happened?" I could hear the concern in his voice.

"They think Michael has punctured a lung in the crash and Mike still hasn't come out of his coma. They say that the longer he's asleep the less likely he is to come out of it." I told him quickly. It didn't seem so real if I said it fast.

"You and Michael are close?" I could hear the question within the question.

"He's a really good friend."

"Just a friend?" he checked.

"Just a friend, why?" I turned on him with a small smile.

"I was just curious." we had stopped walking now. Our faces were inches apart.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow, one of my feet digging into the sand.

He didn't answer as he moved towards me slowly. Our eyes locked and suddenly the events of last night came back to me in a flash.

Those were the same eyes as the wolf. I took a step back putting space between us.

"Bella?" he watched my face carefully.

"I have to get back to the hospital." I wouldn't meet his eyes again. I was replaying the events of the night over and over in my head, this couldn't be real.

"Are you ok?" he asked me quickly.

"Goodbye Jacob." I turned and hurried down the beach, casting one quick look back. That was a mistake I felt my resolve weaken the minute our eyes connected, I wanted to go back and explain my strange thoughts and to laugh about it with him, but I moved forward. I had only known him for a day and a half and already I wanted to tell him everything. I forced myself to get back in the car and drive away, leaving him watching after me.

I shoved all the thoughts, the best I could, into the back of my mind. I would go back to the hospital and not get admitted because I thought the guy I had just met was a werewolf. My mental break down was something I should really keep to myself.

"Is he out yet?" I asked Janice when I got back to the hospital.

"He's in recovery." some of the life had come back into her face.

"What about Mike?" I took a seat next to her.

"They took him off oxygen because he's breathing on his own."

"That has to be a good sign." I felt a light surge or relief.

"I hope so." we sat in silence for a short while.

"Michael's awake." Aunt Liv came out to tell us. She wore deep bags under her eyes. Even looking like the living dead her clothes still managed to look perfect.

"Can I see him?" Janice stood up.

"Go on back." she agreed. She took Janice's seat next to me.

"How's Mike doing?" I asked her.

"He's been better." she tried to make her tone light, but it failed sorely.

"I'm sorry." I leaned back against the chair.

"Would you like to go see him?" she pleaded more than asked.

"Sure." I agreed. It wasn't something I really wanted to do, but after all she had done for me I couldn't bring myself to say no.

I followed the same hall I had traveled just a short while ago towards Mike's room.

"Bella." a man with dark hair stepped in front of me. His eyes were the same gold as Dr. Cullen's had been. I knew who he was as soon as I saw him.

"Who are you?" I played dumb trying to get around him. I didn't need one more thing right now.

"My name is Edward Cullen, I was your….. boyfriend." he explained smiling. The smile that might have dazzled someone sent a shiver down my spine. It looked almost predatory.

"If you'll excuse me." I attempted to go around him again.

"We need to talk." he continued to block my way.

"No we don't." I said firmly taking a step back from him.

"I'm sure you've heard some unflattering things about me, but don't you think I deserve a chance to explain?" he said it in his soft, smooth voice. Which made me more nervous then dazzled.

"No, I don't" I stood up to my full height which still fell short.

"Are you really going to let others cloud your own judgment?" his eyes looked at me imploringly.

"Maybe some other time." I stepped around him and continued down the hall, leaving him behind in shock. I doubted I had ever been that abrupt with him before.

I reached Mike's room and hesitated as I opened the door. I had seen Michael in such a weak state did I want to see Mike too?

I finally managed to get myself to force the door open and I stepped inside the room.

Mike was laying in a bed with a half a dozen machines and tubes hooked up to him. His skin was much paler than I was used to and he was bandaged up. I could see his chest rise and fall with every breath, if I ignored everything else I could almost imagine he really was asleep.

"Hey Mike." I greeted him as I took a seat in one of the chair and sat beside the bed. "I met your girlfriend, she's…..interesting," I struggled for a description. I let things lapse into silence with only the sound of the machines filling the room. I didn't have any idea what to say.

The minutes dragged by and I watched his still unmoving face, it was strange to see it so blank after watching it so full of life.

"There's a reason for everything." the voice I had heard so many times before echoed through my mind.

The voice brought back the memories of earlier. It wasn't possible for people to turn into wolves, was it? Werewolves couldn't really exist.

I turned back to watching him trying to force the thoughts from my mind, but they lingered just under the surface. I knew that I would eventually have to think it through and all the possibilities that went with it.

Life had seemed so much easier in Denver. I had once had a solid life that was normal and now I was actually entertaining the thought of werewolves. I wished I could go back and choose not to leave Denver, maybe things would still be the same. Maybe Michael and Mike wouldn't be in the hospital.

The image of the girl who had been waiting for me when I went looking for Mike and Michael came back to my mind. Was she the one who had been after me? Was she still out there waiting for me? How had she known who I really was? What had she meant when she said that it was only fair for her to kill his mate?

The questions were endless and left me more confused then provided me with any help.

"Wake up soon, Mike." I squeezed his hand before I turned and left the room. There was only so much a person could take in a day and I had just about reached my limit.

I had sat by sick beds, had a mental break down, found my long lost family, and fainted twice all in the space of twenty four hours. I think that I deserved to take a break. To go back to my hotel call the investigator back and get some real, solid answers. I think I deserved a long bath and to curl up with a romance novel, like any other girl did on vacation. Maybe I was being completely selfish, but at this point I really didn't care.

_Sorry it's taken so long to post this, things have been really busy. Thanks for reading._


	22. Campus Killings

"Inspector Morris?" I greeted the man on the other end of the phone.

I was sitting in the hotel room sprawled across the bed. Janice had dropped me off and gone back to the hospital to be with Michael, leaving me without any means of transportation.

"Ms. Johnson, how can I help you?" I could hear the sound of papers being shuffled in the background as he answered.

"I was wondering if anything more had come up. I have classes next week that I really can't miss." I explained as I played with a piece of hair. For some reason the inspector made me nervous.

"Then you're unaware of what's going on here," there was a pause, as if her were gearing himself up for what he had to say, " The entire school has been closed until they can find the culprit of a string of killings that began with Jeffrey."

"What?" there had been more?

"It started with Jeffry then the librarian, Tyler McBride. The killings have continued to the point that all the dorms are being evacuated and all classes are completely postponed, until we find the killer."

I could feel a chill go through me as I thought of the librarian who I had seen so often. He had a 5 kids with the youngest being 3 years old., he had married his high school sweetheart. How could anyone kill him? How could anyone be so heartless?

"There still going on?" I thought back to the woman who I had seen on the road last night. Could she be behind them?

"The last one was last night." he seemed to read my thoughts. If she was with me then she couldn't have been off killing people in a different state, could she?

Thoughts of Jacob flooded my mind. If he really was a wolf, what other abilities could people possess?

"What do I do?" I could feel the panic beginning to well up in me.

"If I were you, Miss Johnson, I would stay as far away from this school as you could get. I have to go, I'll call you if anything else comes up." the phone clicked and I was left with the dial tone.

I doubted I could do anything now. My thoughts swam with person who had gone on a killing spree on the campus. Were they looking for me? Did this have anything to do with me? And who was the woman I had seen last night?

My blood seemed to turn to ice water as I paced around the limited space of the hotel room. I felt penned up, and stuck in this city. I was too far away to go anywhere I knew where to go.

What if they found me? I had no escape in this hotel room. I needed to get out and forget about this.

"Relax Abby, you don't know that they're after you." I repeated to myself as I paced across the small hotel room.

My phone rang, startling me. I was sure my heart had stopped for several seconds before I retrieved the phone.

"Bella?" Charlie's voice came across the phone.

"Charlie." I still cringed at the thought of calling him dad.

"Have you seen the news. You said you went to University of Denver, didn't you?"

"Yes." I shuddered at the thought of learning what else had happened to make the news in Forks.

"They've closed the entire campus do to a series of killings and they have no leads to who's doing it." I was relieved to hear the same things I already knew.

"I heard about it." I admitted trying to keep my voice even.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"At my hotel room, Janice is still at the hospital." I forced myself to calm down and take a breath.

"You don't plan on staying at a hotel until they reopen the campus, do you? Your entire savings could be gone by the time they let the students come back." he told me.

"I need to talk to Janice about it." In truth I hadn't thought about it. I was too lost in my terror to think about anything rationally.

"You know you're welcome here if you need a place to stay." he made the same offer he had given me before.

"We'll see. I have to go." I hung up the phone before he could reply.

I turned on the TV and scanned through the stations until I found the news. They were showing faces of the people that had been killed.

I went into shock as I recognized each of the faces. Someone was killing people I knew.

I enclosed myself in a numbness as I thought of all the people who wouldn't graduate from college. Who wouldn't get married and have kids. They all had futures and families, lives that were cut short.

My numbness soon turned to sadness and I spent a while crying about everything that had ever gone wrong in my life.

When I worked my way through my tears, I was left with a restless feeling that I had to get out of this hotel room. I needed to be able to move and have space.

I had hoped to have a quiet afternoon, but now all I wanted was to get out. I had finally reached my breaking point for the day. Too much had happened in too little time.

_I'm sorry it's so short. I plan on making two parts to this chapter, this one with Bella, and then one with Anya and Damon. I hopefull will have the second part posted later today. Thank you for reading._


	23. Trackers

**1900**

"Uncle." Anya managed to conceal her feelings, for the man, in her voice. Her eyes showed a different feeling.

"Anya, what are you doing here?" his tone was polite, but I could tell he just wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible.

"Don't you think you've let things go on long enough." all pretense of civility was dropped as her voice rang out. Instead of anger with him she sounded annoyed.

"Why should another world concern you?" he looked down off the throne he was sitting on at her. I could tell he still thought of her as a child, even though she was fully grown.

"We don't manipulate other worlds. It's one of the oldest rules we have." she hissed back.

"I'm king now, the rules don't apply to me." he smiled crookedly.

"One day this will catch up to you." her green eyes blazed as she looked up at him. I could tell that his behavior struck defiance in her.

"Perhaps. You may leave." he shoed us with a wave of his hand.

"Arrogance is unbecoming of a king." she commented as we turned to leave.

"Listen to me, I keep you around because the people wouldn't like it if I killed the princess of the first king, but one day I will rise above the power of the people and when that day comes I will not hesitate to get rid of you." he snarled.

"We'll see." she said without any emotion in her voice as we left the room.

"What now?" I asked as soon as we were down the hall. I was surprised that she didn't seem shaken by her uncles announcement.

"We wait for the circumstances to be right." she replied. Her voice sounded easy as if her life hadn't just been threatened.

"What circumstances?" I hurried to match her long stride.

"When the chosen ones are in place then we have a chance, until then we can only watch." she said.

"By that time we don't know how much power he may have gained." I protested.

"We don't have a chance without the chosen ones." she told me stubbornly.

"Very well." we exited down the stone steps into the garden. A glowing, blue portal stood in the center that we moved toward.

**1901**

"In one years time he's managed to get complete control over the vampires." Anya told me when we met on an abandoned street.

"How?" We had been separate for the year. I was assigned to watch the ancestors of the chosen ones and she had been keeping an eye on the supernatural world.

"He helped the Volturi rise to power, he controls them completely and they rule over the vampires." she explained.

"He plays with this world as if it's a toy." we began walking slowly down the street.

"He had no respect for human life." she agreed.

"I've been hearing rumors, about the Volturi working with the trackers." the very word sent a chill down my spine.

"The trackers feed on fear and the Volturi is very good at making people afraid. They've started using them as their own personal assassins." her voice had a hint of fear in it, but it mostly contained annoyance.

"How can we hope to go up against a tracker?" I asked as I thought of the impending battle that was inevitable.

"We can only hope that the chosen ones will know how to defeat them." I could hear the annoyance in her voice at placing her fate in their hands.

"I'll keep you updated." we parted at a fork in the road.

"I would appreciate it." her voice was emotionless.

We turned and went our separate ways.

I quickly found that I missed having her with me. She had been my constant companion for so long, and now we were both on our own. I missed her copper curls and her blazing emerald eyes.

Time meant so little to us when we lived forever, but even a year seemed too long for us to be apart. I was sure that the sentimentality of this world was beginning to be affect me.

**Present**

"He's sent the trackers after her." Anya told me when she reached me. She had gone to check on the situation in Denver.

"Trackers?" the familiar chill went down my spine.

"He believes that if he can kill her it will change the outcome of any war we have." she explained trying to hide the fear in her voice. We had come so close.

"She's still safely here. We have time before they find her." I tried to put her at ease.

"No, they're coming now."

_Thanks for reading._


	24. Awkward Car Rides

The sun set much earlier than it should have and I could hear the sounds of a storm building up outside.

I was trying to focus on homework, the school couldn't stay closed forever and at least this way I would be ahead. I needed something to keep my mind off of what I had learned, but as hard as I tried to concentrate I couldn't focus. My mind ran from one thought to the next, until I shoved the book aside and sat up.

I fumbled through my purse until I found the familiar cell phone.

"Hello." Janice's voice came across the line.

"Where are you?" I tried to suppress my irritation at her stranding me.

"At the hospital, why?"

"Haven't you seen the news." some of my irritation managed to seep into my voice.

"No, what's going on?" she didn't sound even remotely concerned.

"They closed the school," I paused to let it sink in, "There's been a series of deaths on campus and until they figure out who's doing it there's no classes. They're evacuating the dorms."

"It can't be that bad." she wasn't processing the information I had given her.

"Just watch the news." I tapped my foot impatiently as I heard a TV go on in the background. There was several moments of silence before she spoke again.

"They have no suspects." she said in horror.

"Can you come and get me, I don't want to be alone?" I let some of my emotions come into my voice.

"I'm on my way." she said quickly and then the phone went dead.

The minutes went by slowly and I couldn't sit still. I resumed my pacing and tried to find the same numbness I had felt before, but it wouldn't come. I felt horrified, terrified, and hopeless. What if this was the person that was after me?

The knock that came on the door was curt and quick.

I knew that it wasn't Janice, because she had a key and I hadn't told anyone except for Charlie where I was staying.

I didn't want to answer the door, but in the end curiosity won.

I held my pepper spray in one hand and kept the chain lock on the door as I opened it a crack.

"Who is it?" I called out as I hid myself partially behind the door.

"It's Jacob." was the reply.

I felt weak and light headed. How could I face him after I started having suspicions he was a wolf and how I had left things?

"What do you want?" I didn't open the door any farther.

"Charlie sent me to get you. He said that you shouldn't be alone."

I undid the chain and opened the door a little wider. Sure enough, Jacob stood outside my hotel room door.

His short cropped hair was plastered to his head with the heavy rain and his clothes were soaked for even the few minutes that he had been outside my door. Our eyes locked and I didn't want to look away.

"Janice is coming to get me." I forced my eyes to stare at the floor.

"Call her and tell her I'm here. There's no need for her to waste the gas when you can use the money on other things." he told me.

Part of me wanted to do as he said and have that time to spend talking to Jacob in his car, but the other part thought that it would just result in an awkward conversation that I needed to avoid at all costs.

"I don't know." I didn't lift my eyes from the floor.

"Bella, don't you trust me?"

"Bella might have, but I'm Abigail and I just met you." I played with the hem of my shirt.

"You're the same person." he insisted folding his arms.

"No we're two completely different people." I folded my own arms.

"Maybe mentally, but physically there aren't two of you." I could feel his eyes watching my face carefully, but I refused to meet his gaze again.

"That's debatable." I refused to give in.

"Then why don't you come with me and we can debate it on the ride?" there was a wide smile on his face now.

"I'll call her." I stepped aside so he could come in out of the rain.

I grabbed my purse and headed to the bathroom where I could have some privacy to make the call.

"Abby?" Janice answered. I could hear a tinge of guilt in her voice.

"What's going on?"

"I haven't left the hospital yet." she said quickly and under her breath.

"I asked you to come and get me a half an hour ago." I felt hurt.

"I know, but the storm out there is giant and I'm not used to driving in this weather." I had a feeling there was another reason, but I let it slide.

"I've got another ride, call me when you're done at the hospital and you can come get me."

"You aren't hitchhiking?" she sounded shocked.

"No, Charlie sent Jacob to get me so that I wouldn't be alone."

"Really?"

"I'll talk to you later." I headed off the long conversation that I was sure would follow if I stayed on.

I took several minutes to fix my hair and then made sure that I had everything I needed in my purse before I left the bathroom to rejoin Jacob.

"Ready to go?" I asked. He was staring out the window with a strange look on his face.

"Yeah." he replied absently as we moved toward the door.

He didn't say anything as he opened the passenger door for me.

"Thank you." I murmured as I got into the car.

He moved around to the other side and got in. It only took him several minutes to start the engine and move out of the parking lot.

"You seemed to be in a hurry earlier." he commented as he snapped out of the strange trance he had been in.

"I needed to get to the hospital." I replied as I stared out the window at the rain that was falling hard. There was something that seemed sinister about it, I didn't feel the calm that I usually felt with the rain.

"What are you looking at?" there was a jumpy edge to his voice now.

"Nothing." I turned my gaze to my hands that sat twined in my lap.

"What's going on? You've been acting weird."

"And you know all of my moods because you've known me so long." I defended myself.

"Technically I have." he shot back.

"You've know Bella for a long time, not me."

"Just because you've changed doesn't mean you aren't Bella. Everyone changes, they can change their hair and there personality, but that doesn't mean that in the end they aren't the same person."

"I'm not the same person, I have different goals and dreams, and I can't remember a thing before the accident."

"That doesn't mean that you aren't still her in the end."

I let it drop, I wasn't in the mood to argue about something he obviously knew nothing about.

Suddenly the car swerved from the road. I was aware of my scream as the windshield shattered.

"Bella!" Jacob shouted, but I was busy looking at the blood that seemed to be pooling around me.

_Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Things are crazy. Thank you for reading._


	25. Destiny

"Bella!" Jacob called again, but my hearing seemed to stop working. I had a strange floating sensation and things seemed to fade away.

It wasn't like when I had fainted. Things didn't go black they just seemed to dissolve before me.

I seemed to float for a time before I became aware of my surroundings. I was in a meadow and I could see Jacob and a group of boys standing on one edge and a group of people with pale faces on the other. As I looked at them closer I recognized Dr. Cullen and Edward among them.

They were staring at each other looking like they were about to go at each other's throats and I was standing in the middle.

I tried to turn and run from the clearing, but I couldn't move.

"This is your fate Isabella." I recognized the woman's voice as she appeared in front of me.

She had flaming red hair and green eyes that seemed to glow. Her face was timeless and she could have been anywhere from fifteen to her late twenties. She was on the arm of a man with dark close cropped hair and icy blue eyes that looked like they saw everything. They both wore clothes that appeared to be from a different time period, even as long ago as the renaissance.

"Who are you?" I took a step back, forgetting about the people on either side.

"I'm Anya and this is Damon." she spoke carefully, "Is she the one?" she turned to Damon.

"Yes." he replied simply.

"So be it." she reached her arms out and grasped my hands. Suddenly we were flying. Everything rushed before me in a blur as we seemed to move through space.

When we stopped we were in a throne room. Two golden thrones sat on a platform in the far end of the room.

A woman with the same hair as Anya stood next to a man with sandy blond hair in front of the thrones. She wore a golden crown on her head that looked like branches twined with leaves. On each of the leaves were a jewel of a different color. The man wore a simple golden crown that held no jewels.

A girl stood beside them, who looked to be in her early teens. It took several minutes for me to recognize her as Anya. She wore a small tiara that looked like the woman's, the only difference were that the tiara only had emeralds on the leaves.

"William." the woman greeted a man standing in front of them. Her arms were held straight at her side with her hands clasped into fists.

"Avaign, Derek." he greeted the two before him.

Anya watched him with a look of contempt on her face.

"What are you doing here, brother?" the man watched him with a look of distrust.

"Can't I pay my brother a visit?" his tone was even, but there was something in his eyes that sent fear into my heart.

"Uncle." Anya finally greeted him, putting all of her distaste into her voice.

He didn't even cast her a glance as he stalked from the room.

"I don't trust him." the woman commented as she grabbed a hold of the man's hand.

"Neither do I, but we must keep up formalities." the two sat back on the thrown and Anya fled through a side door.

The scene changed and we saw Anya running through the halls of what I assumed was a castle. The halls were a mess of people running and moving in a panic.

"There's been an attack on the castle." someone was saying.

"The king's been killed!" a man yelled to them at the end of the hall.

All the voices stopped and everyone froze in place as they turned to look at the man. Anya continued running, weaving through the people. She didn't stop to question the man as she turned the corner and continued cutting down halls.

She pushed a large door open and stepped into the throne room. The man, the king, was laying on the ground. Blood surrounded him and a knife protruded from his back. The woman who I guessed was the queen had fallen to her knees by one of the other doors and was sobbing. Several woman tried to console her and convince her to leave, but she just sobbed.

A man was talking to someone, who I recognized as Damon, by the thrown.

"Who did this?" Anya's voice was emotionless as she looked down at the king, her father.

"We don't know, your highness, but I can assure you that we will figure this out." the man I didn't recognize said.

"Anya." Damon moved toward her.

"No!" she shouted and turned running from the room.

Things shifted around us and I saw a group of pale men sitting on several thrown, we were in a new building that looked dark and depressing. The place seemed to scream of death and destruction.

"Don't forget who raised you to power." William was saying.

"Of course not, your majesty, but we are doing what we believe is best for us." one of them said.

"You listen to me." he yelled.

Then we were standing in a clearing. It wasn't the one I had originally been in, but one with tall trees and a bubbling brook in the corner. Flowers grew in bunches around the small clearing.

"What's going on?" I demanded as I looked around.

"You're seeing what has been." Anya explained.

"What does this have to do with me?" I asked.

"I'm showing you a piece of your destiny. You had to know why I'm here and who the vampires are."

"There's no such thing as vampires." I immediately said.

"Vampires are very real," she paused to let it sink in, "Your world was once filled with the vampires that haunt your movies. The ones that couldn't go out in the sunlight and were killed with a wooden stake. They were easily kept in line with the vampire slayers, until our world's came together. You see, I come from an entirely different place. There were strict laws about us creating portals to enter other worlds, but William ignored them and came here anyway. He fell in love with one of your vampires and he married her, the two of them had a son that was a highbred of your vampires. One who didn't turn to dust in the sunlight and had skin as hard as granite. He had venom that transformed others into his same kind of highbred. The vampire slayers were all killed and the weaker vampires slowly dissapeared. I made a deal with one of the Quileute Ancestors and he agreed to take the form of the wolf to go back to his tribe in exchange for me giving him the option to transform into a human as well."

"I don't believe you." I told her.

"Fine." she moved her hand and suddenly knew images flashed before me.

I saw Jacob turning into a wolf and I saw myself with Edward as his skin seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. A dozen images of strange events passed through my eyes.

I knew they were my memories, but they didn't feel like mine.

"Your destiny is with the supernatural world, so I suggest you start believing in it." Anya told me.

"How is this possible?"

"Isabella, you have a great destiny. Don't stray from your path and don't deny the truth. We will meet again." Then there was a great flash of light and I took a sucking gasp of breath as I sat up.

I was laying on a stretcher, with paddles being pressed to my chest.

"Her hearts restarted and she's breathing." a woman was saying as they wheeled me into an ambulance.

"Ms. Swan, are you ok?" a man asked as they secured me inside.

"I'm fine, What's going on." I looked around me.

"You were in an accident and lost a lot of blood. You' were even dead for several minutes." the man told me grimly.

"Where's Jacob?" I looked around.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but you were the only one in the car and no one was found near the accident."

"What?"


	26. Recovering

I didn't feel anything as I laid in the hospital bed. I was trying to suppress every memory and feeling I had experienced since I returned to Forks. I wanted to go back to being the person I had been in Denver, but I knew that wasn't an option now.

The effort of suppressing everything drained me of any strength I had left. I felt tired and weak, but I couldn't sleep for fear the wall I had built would crumble and I would be forced to admit everything to myself.

I had gotten a jagged cut down my side that was tightly wrapped and I had a cut that ran along my head. I was lucky I had been revived from bleeding to death.

It was strange to think I had died. My heart had stopped beating and my breathing had stopped, but they had managed to bring me back.

I had told the nurses that I didn't want any visitors. When they came in to check on me they would inform me of how the numbers had grown in the waiting room and how many they were sure had come to see me.

I couldn't bring myself to care. I had been all alone once. Things had been easier. I had been normal and now my life has been turned completely around. I didn't want them to intrude on the solitude. If they intruded I was sure the wall would come down.

It was arguing voices in the hall that finally made me come out of my trance. Part of me struggled to come to the surface, but the other wanted to stay exactly where it was.

"Tell her Jacob wants to see her." a voice was saying while I struggled with myself.

"She's a grown woman and she doesn't want any visitors." another voice refused.

"Just tell her." the voice insisted stubbornly. Something about the voice seemed familiar, but I refused to register who it was.

"I'll tell her."

The door opened slowly and a middle aged woman in scrubs stepped in.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she watched me carefully.

"Tired." I answered emotionlessly.

"I know it's a shock to find out you've been dead and brought back to life, but you need to cope with it the best you can." the woman told me.

I didn't tell her that the fact I had died wasn't really bothering me. She would think I was crazy if I told her I was having an issue with believing in magical creatures.

"There's a young man outside who wants to see you. He says his name is Jacob." she watched my face for any sign of emotion.

Although his name hadn't stirred anything when I had heard it from the hall, suddenly it took on an entire new meaning. The wall came down in a flood and I found every memory and emotion come back.

I had only a few memories of before the accident, that Anya had given me. Most of them were of what Jacob and Edward were. They weren't meant to fill the gap, but convince me.

It was then that I realized why I was trying so hard to suppress this. I was afraid that the memories I had been given would turn me back into Bella.

As many times as I had said I would never become her, I was still afraid. I didn't want to be weak and insecure. I didn't want to be someone who was emotionally unstable. I wanted to be Abby, the girl I had become. She was strong and able to take care of herself. She would never let herself become like Bella.

I felt like two halves of me were fighting. The part of me that was Bella wanted to come back to her old life. She wanted to be with Edward and become a vampire.

Abigail wanted to be herself. She didn't want to change to be with a person. She saw Edward completely different from Bella.

Bella saw Edward as a protective, perfect boyfriend and Abby saw him as possessive. She wanted to be with someone who would make her feel happy and secure, she didn't want to feel like she wasn't good enough all the time.

In the end Abby won. She was stronger then Bella and she fought harder for what she believed in.

"Do you want to see him?" the nurse asked as she watched me. I could tell she knew something significant had just happened.

"No." I clamped down hard. I wasn't Bella, who forgave everyone so easily. Jacob had left me to die and I didn't want anything to do with him.

I was surprised that a part of me wanted to see him. I knew Bella was gone, but I, the strong one wanted to see his face. Even though he left me to die, I missed him.

"Is there anyone you want to see?" she asked hopefully.

"No." I turned stubbornly so that I wasn't facing the door.

"If that changes let me know." she told me as she checked the monitors.

"Has anyone said anything about my friends, Mike and Michael?" I asked after several seconds of silence.

"Michael should be out of the hospital before you are, and Mike woke up." the relief went through me immediately.

Although I wanted time to process everything on my own, I was still worried for them.

I was finally able to drift into a peaceful sleep, one that wasn't troubled with dreams.

_I'm sorry it's so short. I promise I'll make the next chapter longer. Thank you for reading._


	27. Healing

I wasn't sure how long I had been sleeping before I woke up. I had lost all sense of time in the hospital.

I could hear the rain coming down outside and see the stormy clouds from the small window that occupied the room. It was a soothing sound that had me dozing in and out of consciousness.

When I finally was wide awake, I began to notice the things around me. The hospital room looked the same as every other hospital room I had been in. A vase of roses sat on the bedside table with a card propped up on the side.

I hesitantly reached one hand out to grab the card. I could feel the pain that went through my side as I stretched my arm.

I quickly pulled my arm back and focused on staying still. I hadn't been aware of the bruises and cuts I had gotten aside from the major injury, but suddenly I could feel every one of them.

I was sure that I didn't look very nice with blood caked in my hair and dressed in the hideous hospital gown. I had to hope that my recovery time would be quick and I could leave this place and take a long shower.

I had no idea where I would go, but I wanted to get out of Washington. I didn't want to face any of the problems that I had here. It would be so much easier to just leave, it would be the easy thing to do, but I wouldn't do that to the family that had just found Bella. It wouldn't be fair to them.

"Are you feeling any better?" a different nurse from the first one asked as she entered.

She was probably in her early forties with gray tinting her brunette hair. Unlike the blue scrubs that everyone else wore, hers were pink.

"Not really." I tried to smile, but it turned out as more of a grimace.

"Being in a severe accident will do that to you," she said good naturedly, "You have some family that wants to see you."

"I really don't want to see them." I couldn't help how horrible I felt at saying those words. I wanted the time by myself, but I knew it wasn't fair to prevent them from seeing me.

"That's your choice." her warm tone had become icy and unkind.

"Out of curiosity, who is out there?" I finally gave in after several minutes.

"A very large group that refuse to leave the waiting room. One of them claims he's a policeman and he's going to sue us for denying his right to see his daughter." she rolled her eyes as she adjusted an iv that was hooked to my arm.

"Can he do that?"

"Your above 18, so technically you're no longer in his custody. If you choose not to let your family see you that's your right." she left no question on the matter of how she felt about it.

"I'm willing to let one of them come in and see me." I finally relented, after another several minutes under her stern gaze.

"I'll let them know." her smile was back as she left the room. I became strangely suspicious that she had specifically been assigned to my room to get me to allow my family to see me. They were probably driving the nursing staff crazy.

I watched as time slowly went by. Finally it had been ten minutes since the nurse left, then fifteen. I wondered if they had gotten in an argument over who got to see me.

Finally I heard a soft knock on the door. I resisted the urge to run, mostly because I was sure I wouldn't make it more than a few feet before I fell over and couldn't get up.

"Come in." I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice, but I failed.

"Bella." Jacob's hesitant voice greeted me as he stepped inside.

I let my expression stay neutral, but I refused to meet his gaze. A part of me was yelling at me that he had left me to die and I should kick him out right now, but another part wanted him to stay. I forced myself not to show the battle that was going on within me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked carefully. I had already noted that he didn't have a scratch from the accident.

"I'm alive." I turned my head so I wasn't looking at him.

"You've had all of us worried sick." he tried to ignore how I wouldn't look at him, but I could hear how stung he was in his voice.

I didn't know what to say to that.

"Bella, are you going to say anything?" he asked after several minutes had gone by.

"I'm sorry that my injuries have taken you all away from your lives." I spat letting all of my anger and betrayal go into my voice.

"You were never like this before." he said quietly.

"I'm not the same person I was before." I repeated the same words I had said over and over. No one seemed to understand that the Bella they knew was gone.

"You probably want some kind of explanation about me." he entered the topic I knew he had been avoiding.

"Not really," I could feel the stubborn streak in me coming out, "You left me to die and I just want you to go away and leave me alone, or better yet I could go away and pretend I never came to Forks." I put fire behind the words, but I didn't mean them. For some reason I couldn't even began to comprehend, I didn't want to never see him again. The idea of never seeing him again, actually seemed to cause me distress, which upset me even more. How had I managed to become so attached to someone in only a couple of days?

"Bella, I didn't leave you to die." he paused.

"So you just left, you didn't think I would die." I didn't give him a chance to continue.

"You're alive, how hard did you hit your head?"

"Actually, I was brought back to life." I turned so that I wasn't facing him.

"If I knew that you were that seriously hurt, I wouldn't have left you." he told me his voice going back to being quiet.

"Right." my voice fell flat.

"Answer me honestly, do you really want me to go away and never see me again?" Jacob asked.

The argument that was going on inside me suddenly got louder and fiercer. I refused to admit to myself that the argument was between my heart and my head.

I could feel Jacob's eyes on me as I argued with myself. Was my every expression showing on my face?

"No." I finally admitted nearly choking on the words. My argument with myself paused as I listened for his response.

"Good, because I don't think I can be away from you. I don't know how I survived these last couple of days, with you in here. Bella, you can't even began to comprehend how sorry I am," several minutes of silence went by before he spoke again, " I understand why you wouldn't let me see you, but why not your parents? "

"I needed some time by myself." I kept my eyes closely locked on the window. How do you bring up the subject of your sudden realization of magical creatures? Especially if you're talking to a wolf.

"Why?" he was watching me closely again.

"Do I have to give a reason for everything I do?" I asked trying to sound annoyed. I really didn't want to get into wolves and vampires right now.

"Yes." he smiled. I was reminded of the sun coming out from behind the clouds. He had such a warm smile.

"Visiting hours are almost over." I glanced at the clock. I was surprised that it didn't start an argument with myself over the sadness that I let go into my voice. I didn't want him to leave.

"Are you going to let your family see you?" he asked.

"Probably." I didn't even try to hide the reluctance in my voice.

"Why do you want to be by yourself?" there was a serious expression on his face now.

"I needed some time to think through things."

"What kind of things?" he was watching me closely now.

Before I could answer the same nurse entered the room.

"Visiting hours are over." she told us. She had a self congratulatory look on her face, at getting me to let someone come see me.

"Can I come see you tomorrow?" Jake asked looking at me closely.

"Maybe." I forced myself to look away.

"I'll see you tomorrow." he smiled as if I had told him yes.

"You're making progress." she commented as she began changing the bandage on my head.

"I guess." I was mad at myself for missing the man that had left me to die and wanting him to come back tomorrow.

"I might be willing to make an exception to the visiting hours so that your parents can see you." the woman commented as she finished on my head and began on my side.

"I guess I'd be willing to see them." I told her finally.

"I'll go get them." she finished changing the bandage and carefully moved the bedspread back into place.

"Thank you." I leaned my head back against the pillows. What had I gotten myself into?

_Thank you for reading._


	28. Dealing

I was exhausted from my visit with my parents. Renee had fussed over me and Charlie had stood there awkwardly. I wasn't used to having parents, so it was even more strange having them there acting so concerned about me.

I had tossed and turned until I finally had gotten to sleep, but my dreams had been troubled. Filled with shadows and darkness. I had been running from something I couldn't see. The darkness pressed down around me, choking me and taking away my air.

I woke up gasping for breath and it took me several minutes to calm down. My side hurt from the gasping and my sheets were bunched up around me.

Soft sunlight came through the window, leaving promise of it being a nice day. I doubted I would be able to enjoy it from the hospital room. I was beginning to feel the claustrophobia hospitals gave me.

"How did you sleep?" my original nurse asked as she entered.

"Fine." I knew I needed to stop using that word.

"When do I get out of here?" I asked as I looked wistfully out the window.

"The doctor's coming to see you later today. He should be able to tell you. There are some people in the waiting room who want to see you."

"You can send them in." I figured that maybe they'd leave me alone if they saw I was alive.

"Ok." she hummed softly to herself as she left. I was sick of the overly cheerful mood the entire nursing staff seemed to be in. It was one more thing I hated about hospitals. How could someone be happy dealing with severely injured people?

"How are you doing?" Janice asked as she entered. I could tell that she felt guilty she hadn't picked me up.

"As good as can be expected." I forced a smile on my face.

"I'm sorry I didn't show up to get you." she took a seat next to me.

"Don't worry about it, if I had a cute boyfriend in the hospital I'd probably want to stay with him too." I smiled.

"He's not my boyfriend, yet." she added the last part under her breath.

"Right." I rolled my eyes.

"What about Jacob, he hasn't left the hospital since you were admitted." she smirked.

"He hasn't?" I didn't know what to think of that.

"Nope, he spends the nights in one of those uncomfortable waiting room chairs." her smile grew even wider.

"Your kidding." Why would a person who I barely knew spend days in a hospital waiting room for me?

"I'm dead serious. You're my best friend, but even I wouldn't spend that many nights in one of those chairs for you."

"What did he say about not being at the scene of the accident?" I asked curiously. Maybe he had a guilty conscience.

"Don't you remember? You had a flat tire, so he walked to the nearest town to get someone to call to tow the car. Someone rammed into you and forced the car into a tree. It was a hit and run." she watched me closely for any signs of remembering.

Nothing about that story rang true. I could remember exactly what had happened and that wasn't it. Something was going on here, and I fully intended to find out.

"Maybe it will come to me." I told Janice. I didn't want to burden her with magical beings and she would probably just think I had hit my head too hard, anyway.

"You heard that Mike woke up and Michael's out of the hospital?" she changed the subject.

"Yes, how are they doing?"

"Mike's recovering at a rapid rate. He should be out soon, and Michael's doing just fine." she smiled as she said Michael's name. I could remember when I had smiled every time I said Jeffry's name, it seemed so long ago that we had been planning our life together. Now he would have no life.

"Any breakthrough in Denver?" I tried to get away from the uncomfortable thoughts.

"None, school's still cancelled. A bunch of people are just transferring their credits to different colleges and going there."

"What are you going to do?" I asked her.

"I don't know. I haven't had time to think about it."

"And Michael?" I had a feeling she would go wherever he went.

"He's still deciding. I think he'll give it a few weeks and if things don't change he'll start attending a school in Idaho or he's even talked about Washington."

"How would you feel if he decided to go to Washington?" I knew how much she hated cold weather.

"The rain's kind of grown on me." she admitted.

"Or Michael." I laughed, causing another wave of pain to go through my side.

"That may have something to do with it too. I'm going to go get Michael, he wants to see you." she got up and left the room.

Several minutes went by before I heard a soft knock on the door.

"I seem to be spending a lot of time in hospitals." he smiled as he entered and took the seat Janice had been in minutes earlier.

"Not exactly how we planned to spend our vacation. I never thought of Washington as a big place for car crashes." I smiled.

"Slippery roads." he said as if that explained it all.

"It's good to see you out of bed."

"I feel a lot better. Although, It should be a couple of months before I feel back to normal."

"No football for you." I tried to keep things light.

"At least for now." he quickly added. "How are you feeling?"

"I've definitely felt better, but I think my recovery time will be faster than yours. Most of my injuries are external."

"I bet you'll be glad to get out of the hospital." he was well aware of my aversion to any medical place.

"Definitely." I agreed quickly.

"Jacob wants to see you, so I'll let you go and visit you later." he squeezed my hand as he left.

I had mixed feelings on seeing Jacob again. He had deliberately lied about what happened with the accident, and maybe he had a good reason, but what if he didn't. For some reason I couldn't even began to comprehend, I wanted to see him, even after all that had happened.

"Hey, Bells." he slipped into the room and took the seat next to me. I liked how he had shortened Bella. No one else seemed to call me that.

"Jake." I had no idea what to say.

It took me several minutes of silence to realize that I had called him Jake. Up until this point I had only been comfortable using his full name.

"How are you feeling?" he asked the familiar question I had been asked by everyone.

"Better." I smiled slightly.

I was suddenly aware of how I must look. It hadn't mattered yesterday, but now I was thinking of my hair that was caked in blood and needed to be washed.

"You look better." he returned my smile.

"I doubt it, I haven't showered in three days."

"I meant you look happier and your coloring is back to its normal color." he quickly covered for himself.

"How are you doing?" I let him off the hook.

"I'm doing fine." he said quickly as if he wanted to steer things away from himself.

"We had a flat tire?" I raised an eyebrow letting him know that I didn't believe it.

"Not exactly," he paused as if he didn't know what to say, "Do you believe that unexplainable things can happen?"

"What do you mean?" I knew exactly where he was going with this and didn't plan on making it easy for him.

"Like the supernatural?" he choked on the word. I could tell it wasn't one he liked using.

"You mean like witches and vampires?" I returned with another question.

"Sort of." he watched my face carefully.

"Do I believe in them?" I stalled as I tried to think of how to answer.

He nodded and watched my face carefully.

"Before this trip I hadn't ever thought about it, but now it seems like a real possibility." I finally came up with.

"Why this trip?" I could tell he thought Edward had gotten to me.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I leaned back.

"Try me." he watched me with an unreadable expression.

I had no idea how to tell him I knew he was a giant wolf.

"The doctor wants to see you now." the nurse interrupted our conversation.

"Ok, I'll see you later." I told Jake.

"Later." he agreed as he left.

_Thanks for reading._


	29. Going Home

My doctor was a tall man that appeared to be in his late forties. He had sandy blond hair that was tinged with grey, but strangely his face was still smooth and timeless. His eyes were a blue that bordered on grey.

"Would you like me to call you Ms. Swan or Ms. Johnson?" he asked when he entered. His voice was calm and I could tell he enjoyed his work. In a small way he reminded me of Michael.

"Either's fine." I forced a smile, hoping that if I acted like I was feeling good he would let me go home.

"I haven't ever had to deal with a situation quite like this." he returned my smile as he checked several of the monitors and took notes on a clip board.

"What do you mean?" I immediately feared for my health.

"Memory loss." he was quick to reassure me when he saw the panicked look on my face.

"Oh." I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back.

"You appear to be doing fine. Your concussion is gone and your head appears to be healing up nicely. We'll plan to take out the stitches in your head at the same time we take out the stitches in your side." he decided as he examined the iv hooked into my arm.

"When can I leave?" I asked.

"I would prefer to have you stay another couple of weeks. With the amount of blood you lost we had to give you a transfusion and, although, we haven't experienced any complications yet that doesn't mean there won't be any. Your body should take a few weeks to replace the transfusion blood with your own blood. However, whether you stay or not I will leave up to you. Other than those few concerns you seem to be doing fine and as long as you take it easy and don't do anything strenuous then I would be willing to release you as early as this afternoon."

"That's sounds wonderful." I immediately excepted his offer to let me go.

"I wouldn't recommend driving. With your loss of blood you may experience weakness or dizziness," he warned, "We'll plan to have you come back, in let's say a week and we can take out the stitches and do a quick follow up check up."

"Ok." I agreed immediately. I was ready to go right now.

"I'll have a nurse bring you your paperwork and there's a bag of your things in the drawer, right there." he pointed to a drawer in the bedside table.

"Thank you." I flashed him another smile as he left.

"Here are your release forms." a nurse said as she entered the room several minutes later.

I was looking at my clothes in dismay. They were completely covered in dry blood and I doubted they would ever come clean.

"Is there anyone you'd like me to get for you?" she asked as she set the paper work on the edge of the bed and began to take my iv out.

"Would you get my friend, Janice?" I had to hope that she had my bag with her. I needed to wash my hair and I wanted a fresh change of clothes. There was no way I was leaving the hospital covered in blood.

"I'll get her." she finished what she was doing and left the room.

When Janice entered she was carrying my suit case.

"Thank you." I took it from her and quickly went through it for clothes and shampoo.

"You're going to take a shower at the hospital?" she asked as she watched me.

"I'm not leaving covered in blood." I insisted as I found the items and carefully zipped up my suit case.

"Ok." she rolled her eyes as she perched at the edge of the bed and began going through the paperwork.

"Do you want to get started on that?" I pleaded as I got up from the bed.

"You owe me." she snagged the pen from the clip board and began filling things in.

"Thank you."

Standing up proved to be a problem. I felt wobbly and shaky, but somehow I managed to make it into the bathroom.

I took a quick shower, being especially careful of my head and side, and then got dressed in clean clothes. I carefully took a pick through my hair and pulled it back into a pony tail.

In the end I was quite satisfied with how I looked. I didn't look like I had been dead three days ago.

"You just have to sign these pages." Janice showed me when I got out. I had begun to feel much steadier on my feet.

"Ok." I was quick to sign them and dropped them off at the nurses station as we made our way out.

"You're alive." Mike, who had gotten out of the hospital earlier that day, said dramatically when we entered the waiting room.

"Back from the dead." Michael was quick to add in the same dramatic voice as his cousin.

"And you were never in the drama club?" Janice asked as she watched Michael with adoring eyes.

Mike snickered and Michael shot him a glare.

"It was one school play." Michael insisted.

It was good to listen t the cousins argue back and forth. It helped to erase the memory of them laying in their hospital beds looking so weak.

My eyes wandered over my parents to where Jacob sat watching me. He had the smile that I had grown so fond of on his face and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Let's get out of here." Janice sounded just as ready to be out of the hospital as I felt.

"We can't keep staying in the hotel." I told Janice as we walked out to the parking lot.

"I know, but I'm not too fond of camping out in the car either." she replied.

"You girls are welcome to stay with me." Charlie offered. I could tell he was shaken from almost losing his only daughter.

"Maybe for a couple of nights." I hesitantly agreed. I couldn't bring myself to say no.

"Then it's settled." Charlie smiled as we all moved to our separate cars.

Michael, Mike, Janice, and I all packed in the car. I hurried to claim the passenger seat and Janice took the drivers seat.

"I'm the only one who hasn't gotten in an accident within the last little while." she told the boys who she had beaten to the driver's seat.

The drive to Charlie's house was mostly quite. We were all happy to be away from the hospital.

"Would you like me to drop you guys off at Mike's house?" Janice asked, almost as an afterthought, when we parked in Charlie's driveway. The car Jacob had been driving was parked in front of the house.

"I guess, Aunt Liv's probably worried about us." Michael replied. I could tell he wanted to stay and see the house I had once lived in.

"I'll see you in a little while." I got out of the car. I knew that I couldn't avoid the conversation with Jacob any longer.

"You sure you don't want to just come with us?" she knew how awkward the idea of staying with my father, who I couldn't remember was for me.

"No, I'll be fine." I told her, forcing a smile on my face. She didn't know I was headed to a conversation I had been avoiding since I was brought back to life.

I waited until they had pulled out of the driveway to walk slowly up to the front door. I paused briefly to decide whether to knock or not, but finally I just opened the door and walked inside.

"I have to go down to the station, will you be ok here with Jake?" Charlie asked as soon as I stepped through the door.

"I'll be fine." I repeated the words I had just told Janice. I made a promise to myself that I would never use those words again. I had way overused them the past few days.

"Good." he gave me a quick hug, and I wrapped my own arms around him. He then hurried from the house.

"You seem to be doing better adjusting to things." Jacob commented from where he sat on the couch.

"I don't really have a choice, but to adapt." I pointed out as I took the seat next to him.

"You could run." he suggested the idea I had been playing with since I found out Charlie was my father.

"No I couldn't. That wouldn't be fair to them, or to me."

"So why does Forks make you consider the existence of magical creatures?" his tone was light, but I could tell that the question was serious.

"Jake, I know you're a wolf." I finally just spit out what had been plaguing me for the last three days.

_Thanks for reading._


	30. Jacob

I expected him to say something, maybe try to deny it. But instead we fell into an awkward silence. I was used to Jacob being a talkative person and this quietness unnerved me.

I didn't know him well enough to be able to read his emotions. Was he upset that I knew?

"How do you know?" he asked suddenly, breaking the silence. His voice didn't have any emotion in it. It was strange not to see all the emotions playing across his face.

"I figured it out." I had figured out he was a wolf before Anya's confirmation and I really didn't want to get into Anya and Damon with him.

"How?" he asked again. He seemed so shocked that I already knew. I was slightly relieved to see some emotion.

"Your eyes, whether you're a wolf or a human, they're the same eyes." I admitted quietly as I stared down at my hands that were knotted in my lap.

"I thought it would take me forever to convince you, I didn't in a million years expect you to already know." he said thoughtfully. I could feel his gaze on my face, but I didn't look up.

"You were going to tell me?" even though he had hedged toward the subject several times, I had no idea why he would want to tell someone he had only know a few days. Then again, he still thought I was the same person he had known for a long time.

"I couldn't live with you thinking that I would just abandon and leave you to die. Bella, I will never hurt you." I looked up and met his gaze.

"So there's a reason why you left?" I tried to stay focused.

"If they found me at the scene of a severe accident like that, then they would have taken me to the hospital to get checked out. Being a wolf, I'm not exactly normal. My temperature is much hotter then the average human and I heal a lot faster then a normal person should." he watched me carefully as if he expected me to run.

"Huh." was all I managed to say as I processed the information. I felt bad that I had ever thought he would leave me to die.

"Are you ok?" he asked as he continued to watch me closely.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I stood up and moved to the window.

Storm clouds were moving over the sun and blocking out the beautiful day that I had once thought it would be.

"You just found out about the existence of magical creatures." he pointed out.

"Actually, I found out three days ago. I've had plenty of time to adapt and adjust to a different version of the world I thought I lived in." I said nonchalantly.

"How do you adapt and adjust in three days?" he asked incredulously.

"Jake, I woke up without having any memory of anything. If I didn't adjust and make the best of my situation quickly I would have fallen in a depression and that's not where I wanted to be. Adjusting it just part of life, you have to accept change and move on."

"You really aren't the same Bella from before." he finally accepted what I had been telling him all along.

"No, I'm not."

"What's your life like in Denver?" he asked after several seconds of silence. I moved from my spot at the window and sat back down next to him.

"It's normal. I go to my classes, study, and hang out with friends." I shrugged.

"And you date?" there was something else in his voice now. Something I couldn't quite figure out.

"Occasionally." I shrugged it off.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" I wondered if my father had put him up to these questions.

"No, I've only had one really serious relationship and things didn't work out."

"Why not?" for some reason I wasn't upset by the personal questions he was asking me.

"His parents didn't approve, they thought he was dating beneath him. He and I ended up getting in an argument about it and we never worked things out."

"Did he agree with his parents?"

"No, but I didn't want to marry him and have his parents disown him. When I get married I want my in-laws to approve of me, or at least be willing to accept me. What about you, you must have a girlfriend?" I had just told him I knew he was a wolf and we were talking about relationships?

"Nope."

"Why not?" I figured he had asked enough personal questions about me that I could ask some about him.

"I guess the right girl just hasn't come along." he smiled at me.

A knock at the door interrupted our conversation and I hesitantly got up to get it.

"Sorry it took me so long." Janice said as she came in lugging both of our suitcases.

Guilt went through me as I realized that I was upset that Janice had shown up. I wanted to spend more time talking to Jacob. He had a way of making me feel safe and like everything I said was important. I didn't really want Janice to intrude.

"Do you want our stuff in your old room?" she asked as she set the stuff by the couch.

"I guess." I hadn't really thought about it.

"I'll help." Jacob took the suitcases from Janice and took them up the stairs.

"Where's Charlie?" Janice asked as she took a seat on the couch next to me.

"Something came up at the station. Did you get Michael and Mike back home?"

"Yep. So I was thinking we could go to one of the bigger cities tomorrow and go shopping." she changed the subject quickly.

"That would be fun." I agreed to exhausted to push.

"And maybe we could check out the University of Washington campus, just in case things don't work in Denver."

"Ok." I agreed. I hadn't thought about where I would go to school if things didn't work out in Denver.

"The three of us are going to stick together." she insisted when she heard the hesitancy in my voice.

I didn't say anything. I didn't know that my future was in Washington. If I stayed with my original plan of going to Oregon, wouldn't it be easier to go to a school there?

Yet even as the thoughts went through me mind, a deeper feeling, one I didn't want to admit, told me that Washington was the place I would make my permanent home.

_Thank you for reading._


	31. Attempting to Adjust

A storm raged beyond the window long after the sun had gone down. I heard the occasional claps of thunder and flashes of lightening lit up the room.

Janice and I had spent several hours cleaning the dust and cobwebs from my old room to make it livable, after Jake had left. It was strange to go through so many belongings that had once been mine, but now had no meaning to me. That I couldn't remember anything about the items.

"Is it weird to be here?" Janice asked from where she was on the bed. I was sleeping on the floor, I couldn't bring myself to use anything in the room.

"Yes." I replied as I continued to gaze out the window.

"I can't even began to imagine how it must feel to be back here after so much time."

I let the two of us lapse into silence. I had no idea what to say to her. How could I explain all the emotions that were tied to this trip to Forks.

My life had become so complicated since I got here. I used to wish I could feel in the blanks, but now I would do anything to forget what Isabella Swan had been like. As hard as it was I didn't mind dealing with her family and friends, it was the constant fear that I would turn into her that I couldn't get over.

"How serious are you and Michael?" I asked finally, just to distract myself from the thoughts I was having.

"I really like him, but I don't know how he feels about me. I think he's always wanted the small town girl and I come from the city. I've never milked a cow or ran a family store." she told me quietly.

"Are those things really important to him, though?" I pulled my blanket closer around me.

"I don't know. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. What about you and Jacob?" she turned things around on me.

"Jacob's a nice guy."

"That's all you have to say? He spends three days in a waiting room for you and that's all you can say?" she demanded.

"What do you want me to say? I've only known him for four days."

"Has he asked you out?" I could hear her shift so that she could see my face.

"No."

"Do you want him to ask you out?" she persisted.

"I haven't thought about it." I let all of my annoyance seep into my voice.

"You haven't thought about it? I've thought about wanting him to ask me out and I haven't even talked to him." her voice rose several octaves.

"Charlie's asleep in the other room." I tried to quiet her. What had happened to the girl who wanted me to marry her brother?

"Your crazy if you don't want him to ask you out." she whispered after several minutes of silence.

"I thought you're with Michael?" I tried to turn things on her.

"I am." she laughed and shifted again.

I smiled. At least after everything else in my life had changed, Janice hadn't.

I awoke to the sound of rain pounding the ground outside. It was a welcome sound, one I would be happy to wake up to every day. I had never gotten used to not waking up to the rain.

I quietly got up and took a shower. It took me twenty minutes to get my hair and make up done and another ten to decide on an outfit.

When I was finally done the sun had risen and been covered in clouds.

"Good morning, Bella." Charlie greeted me when I descended down the stairs. He was on his way out the door dressed in his police uniform.

"Good morning." It was strange to think that I was staying in a house with my father. This wouldn't have seemed even possible a year ago.

"I'll be back later tonight, make yourself at home." he closed the door tightly behind him and several minutes later I heard his car start up.

I absently looked in the fridge and cupboards. The contents were bachelor rations of TV dinners and cans of soup. I had no idea how anyone could live on this food. Janice and I had made a point of keeping fruits and vegetables in our dorm and we took turns making dinner in the small kitchen whenever we didn't have a date.

"Morning." Janice greeted me as she came down the stairs, still in her pajamas.

"Look at this." I gestured to a cabinet of canned soup.

"Is that all soup?" she collapsed in one of the kitchen chairs with a stunned look on her face.

"All of it, you should probably make a quick run to the grocery store. I'd do it myself, but I can't drive."

"I guess I'll go get dressed." she grumbled as she moved back towards the stairs, muttering something under her breath.

I absently made my way to the kitchen window and looked out at the stormy morning. Water already ran in the streets and everything glittered with rain drops.

The phone ringing shook me out of my trance as I debated whether to answer it or let the person make a message.

"Hello?" I finally just answered it. I was pretty sure everyone knew I was back despite my best efforts. I couldn't imagine why I would choose to stay in such a small town where everyone thought they knew everything about you.

"Bella?" the voice was exited and perky, but it also had a musical quality to it that set me on edge.

"Yes." I absently twirled the cord in my fingers.

"It's your best friend, Alice." I could hear the uncontrolled enthusiasm in her voice. I had a mental image of the person sitting somewhere jumping up and down as she talked. How could my best friend be someone who sounded so energetic and perky?

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember." I just wanted to get out of this situation as fast as possible. I couldn't deal with anything else right now.

"Right, how are you doing?"

I had no idea how to answer. How could this complete stranger suddenly call and act like nothing had happened? If this person was my best friend then why didn't they come and see me like everyone else? It was just too much for me right now.

"I have to go, my friend and I are going to the store." I kept my tone even and emotionless.

"Do you want to go do something later?" some of her enthusiasm was gone now.

"Maybe, I just need some time to adjust to things. Goodbye." I placed the phone back in the cradle and collapsed in one of the kitchen chairs.

How could I possibly deal with all that was going on?

"Are you coming?" Janice asked as she descended the stairs watching me closely.

"Of course, you always forget what we're supposed to be buying." I smiled as we grabbed our purses and locked the house behind us.

"Who was on the phone?" Janice seemed to be in a noticeably better mood since she had taken a shower and put on her make up.

"My best friend before the accident." I got in the car cutting off any further conversation. I didn't want to think about this anymore.

The ride to the store was silent and uneventful. Janice didn't pressure me about the phone call and I couldn't think of anything to say.

At the store we hurried to the back of the store and got a gallon of milk. We had our grocery shopping down to a science and were able to get out of the store in thirty minutes stocked up for a week of eating real food.

"If we aren't going to be going to Denver then we need to be able to get our stuff." Janice commented when we were back on the road again.

"You could probably get them to ship it to you when you decide where you're going to live." I still wasn't sure what I was going to do. I knew that I needed to rethink my future, but I couldn't process that the one I had already planned was gone and since I couldn't process it I refused to think about it.

"Yeah, maybe I'll call them and see what they suggest." she turned onto the road Charlie's house was on and I took a double take as I saw Edward Cullen and Mike Newton in an argument on the front lawn. Jacob was coming towards them from the woods with a deep frown on his face. Couldn't I have one day that was partially normal?

_I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update. I went camping and got sick and now I'm just barely beginning to feel normal again. Thank you for reading._


	32. The Beginning

"What are they doing?" Janice hissed as she pulled to the side of the road several houses from Charlie's.

"They appear to be in an argument." I rolled my eyes as I opened the car door.

"Where do you think you're going?" I could see the look in Janice eyes that said she was thinking about turning and driving to the nearest police station.

"Someone has to break it up, it may make Charlie a little upset to have to answer a call about a fight on his own front lawn." I quickly pointed out. The last thing I needed was to have the police involved in this mess.

I turned and began moving toward the house and she quickly hurried to follow me. It was reassuring to know that there would be someone to run and call the police if I couldn't get this worked out. I had to just hope that werewolves and vampires were willing to submit to local law enforcement. It would be a disaster if they weren't.

My eyes wandered back to the fight that was occurring on the front lawn. Jacob had reached the two and was arguing with Edward. Mike kept looking around as if he were getting ready to run away. These were grown men, what were they were doing?

"What do you think you're doing?" I yelled, getting the attention of everyone when I finally reached the house. I hoped the neighbors wouldn't call the police.

"Bella, get in the house." Edward snarled at me as he turned on Jacob.

"How dare you come onto my property and tell me what to do. I suggest you leave right now Mr. Cullen." I folded my arms and stood up to my full height. I was well aware that I looked ridiculous, but vampire or not he would not order me around.

"Bella, I think I have a right to explain myself." he said in a perfectly controlled voice. He had been arguing a minute ago and now he was perfectly calm? How had I ever found him charming, this was eerie. No one could change their emotions that quickly.

"I don't think so. All you have done since I got back is harass me and now you're starting fights in my front yard. If this is the kind of boyfriend you were when we were in high school then Charlie had a good reason to dislike you. I would like you to leave now before I call the police to escort you." I let my voice come down to a normal volume, but I stayed firm and secure. He may have been my boyfriend once, but things had changed, I had changed, and I didn't want a relationship with him. Maybe, someday I would be willing to sit down and talk, but that day wasn't today.

"I will respect your wishes, but Bella we need to talk. When you decide you're ready you have my number." he turned and moved back to the sleek Volvo that was parked at the curb. I was sure that if I really needed to I could find his number, but right now that sounded like suicide. There was no way I was going into the vampires den.

I waited until he had sped around the corner to turn on Mike.

"What happened?" I demanded.

"He started it." he immediately began in a wining voice.

"Right." I rolled my eyes as I moved to the front door and opened it, gesturing everyone inside.

I wanted to get this resolved and then start on dinner. I was sure my day was gone, I would probably spend the next couple of hours trying to get the full story from Mike and Jacob. Mike would blame Edward for everything, and I had no idea how Jacob would handle it. All in all it was bound to be a long afternoon.

"Where's Michael?" I could hear Janice ask as they brought groceries in from the car, that Janice had finally parked in the driveway. I was carefully arranging the food in the fridge as it was brought to me. Our talk would have to wait until after all of the perishables were secure.

"He went to go help at the store. I would have gone, but I had lunch plans that fell through." I rolled my eyes. It didn't take a genius to guess who his lunch plans were with.

"What do you see in Jessica?" Janice asked as she set a gallon of milk on the counter. She really sounded puzzled.

"She's beautiful, kind, and genuine." I tried to muffle my laughter as an image of her with her acrylic nails came to mind.

"I'm sorry I asked." Janice took the last bag from Jacob and handed it to me before she ushered them all back into the living room. I was sorry she had asked too, it was sad to see the illusion Mike was under. One day that illusion would crumble and when that day came I hoped there was someone around to pick up the pieces.

"Are you ready to tell me what happened?" I took a seat in the chair across from where they sat on the couch and folded my arms. I couldn't believe we were doing this, what were they five.

"I came here to ask you if you wanted to come with Michael and I to visit the university tomorrow and Edward was waiting at your front door. I asked him what he was doing here and he said he was here to see you. Things just went downhill from there." I wasn't surprised by what had happened with Mike, this seemed to fit what I knew about him perfectly.

"Ok, I get that, but what I don't understand is what you have to do with this." I turned to Jacob.

"I had other reasons to talk to the Cullen's." I immediately knew exactly what he was talking about.

"What other reasons?" Janice asked as she turned to him. I knew she wouldn't accept his answer. Since she was dating Mike's cousin she wanted someone else she could put the blame on other then his cousin when the story got back to them.

"That's between Jacob and the Cullen's and we aren't going to get involved." I said firmly as I stood up.

She watched my face carefully and I could tell she would ask me about this later, but she let it slide.

"We need to start on dinner. Will you two be staying?" she asked as they all stood up after me.

"I have to go, but can I stop by to see you later and maybe we could go for a walk?" Jacob asked as he turned to look at me.

"Sure." I found myself once again trapped in his gaze. I had no idea how he had gotten this power over me, I didn't trust people easily, but I did trust him, so completely that it scared me.

"I have to get home, we have family stuff." Mike rolled his eyes.

Janice showed them out and when the door was closed she turned on me.

"You know something." she accused as she watched me closely.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I played dumb as I moved toward the kitchen.

"You aren't going to tell your best friend?" a mock tone of hurt had entered her voice.

"There's nothing to tell." I felt bad keeping the truth from her, but she wouldn't believe me if I told her about the existence of magical creatures. She would think I had gone crazy, and it was just easier for her to stay oblivious.

"That walk thing sounded like a date." she finally let it go as we began pulling out the ingredients for lasagna. We usually didn't have time to make extravagant meals like this, so it was a nice change from routine.

"I don't think it was a date." I insisted as I put a pot of water on the stove to boil. As far as I knew Jacob didn't have any romantic interest in me. I was a friend and nothing more, I wouldn't set myself up to get hurt.

"Trust me, I know when a guys asking someone out." she persisted.

"He's asking me to go out for a walk, that's hardly dinner and a movie."

"It's a start." she stopped what she was doing and looked at me. "Have you decided what to wear?"

"It's not a date so I don't need to get dressed up." I continued with what I was doing. I had no intention of getting dressed up for Jacob Black.

"Yes you do, come on we're going to go pick out your out fit." she grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the stairs.

"We just started dinner." I pointed out as I struggled to get free from her death grip.

"I guess we shouldn't leave a pot of boiling water on the stove." she finally released me as she realized that dinner was more important then my clothes for the moment.

"You think." I laughed as I went back to what we were doing.

_Thank you for reading._


	33. Walking With A Wolf

I checked my watch for the millionth time as we sat in the living room after dinner. The sun was going to set in several hours and I had no intention of taking a walk in the dark. Especially since I had been made aware of the existence of magical creatures.

Charlie was watching a sports program on TV, that I was completely ignoring and Janice sat meticulously filing her nails as I stared out the window. If someone had told me Janice and I would be sitting in my fathers living room and staying at his house a month ago I would have told them they were crazy. Now here we were acting like some normal family, it was completely crazy.

"Michael still hasn't called me." Janice complained to me as she put the file back in her purse.

"He's probably just busy with family stuff." I wasn't in the mood to discuss all of her relationship problems right now. I had enough of my own for both of us.

"I guess." she sighed.

"Why don't you try calling him?" I suggested as I turned to look at her.

"What if he's busy?"

"It's Michael, not some guy you met in one of your classes and have been dating a week. I think you've known him long enough to be able to call him instead of waiting for him to call you." Michael wasn't just the most recent guy she was dating he was our friend and I had no intention of letting her forget that.

"I'm going to go call him." she got up determinedly from the couch and walked up the stairs. Leaving me to watch Charlie's sports program., how nice of her.

I had never been able to bring myself to enjoy watching sports on TV. It was one thing to be there watching them or to be participating, but I had never been able to just sit down and watch them on a screen. I got bored of them too easily.

"What are your plans?" Charlie asked as he muted the TV and turned to look at me. I was sure that this was a rare occurrence.

"My plans for what?" I suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. This was the first time he had actually treated me like I was his daughter.

"If your college doesn't reopen soon what are you going to do?" he clarified watching me closely.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to check out the Washington State campus, but I haven't decided for sure on what I'm doing yet." I tried to dodge the question. I didn't want to get into the fact that I wasn't thinking about my future because I didn't want it to change from what I had planned, but I knew it was going to have to change.

"That's good." he turned the volume up and went back to watching his show. It wasn't much of a talk, but I was happy to be done.

"Excuse me." I murmured as I left the room and moved up the stairs.

Janice was sitting on my bed talking to Michael on the phone. It sounded like they were making plans for going to dinner tomorrow night after we went to the campus.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Janice said in a blissfully happy voice. I felt a tinge of jealousy, how was it fair that I couldn't get a guy and she had snatched up one of the best guys I knew.

"Bye." she closed her cell phone and leaned back on the bed.

"So I take it your phone call went well?" I asked as I sat in the rocking chair in the corner and rocked slowly back and forth. I was doing my best to keep my annoyance out of my voice. It wasn't really fair to take out my frustration over dating out on her.

"Michael is a really great guy." she sighed as she stared into space. How long had it been since I had been that exited over a guy?

"Yeah, he is." I agreed as I stared out the window. For once it wasn't raining, and the sun was beginning to set.

"Where's Jacob, didn't he say he would be by later?" she changed the subject.

"It's starting to get a little late for a walk." I pointed out as I tried to hide my disappointment. Why did I feel bad that he didn't show up? I didn't care, did I?

"I guess." she shrugged as she put her phone back in her purse.

"It doesn't matter anyway. I'm going to go take a shower and then get some sleep." I grabbed my bag and dragged it into the bathroom with me, happy to have a place to escape to.

I had all of my stuff carefully laid out when I heard a loud knock on the door.

"Abby, before you get in the shower, someone's here to see you." the smugness in her voice gave away who it was.

"I'll be down in a minute." I called through the door as I attempted to get all of my stuff back in my bag. His timing was extremely inconsiderate.

"Hey." I greeted Jake when I finally descended the stairs. I couldn't suppress the twinge of happiness at seeing him waiting for me, I did, however, attempt to ignore it. I should be upset at him for being late.

"Hey, I know it's getting dark, but can we walk outside for a minute?" his tone was apologetic, but I didn't know that I was ready to let it go. I had waited for him all evening.

"For a minute." I agreed grudgingly as I grabbed my jacket from the entryway and put it on.

We walked slowly through the front yard and began moving down the street away from the house.

"So you want to tell me what really happened?" I asked as I pulled my jacket close around me. I wasn't really cold, but I had no idea what to do.

"I have no idea what happened with Cullen and Newton, I was on my way to talk to the Cullen's when I picked up the bloodsuckers sent near your house and I went to see what was going on." I shivered at how easily he used the word bloodsucker. The supernatural world was completely new to me and I was still partially in denial.

"Why were you going to see the Cullen's?" I knew it was rude to ask, but curiosity overcame my manors.

"I needed to talk to them about renegotiating the treaty line." he watched my face carefully as if looking for some sign that his words were triggering a memory or maybe he thought I was going to turn and run.

"The treaty line?" I tried to ignore his penetrating gaze and focus on walking.

"When the Cullen's came here the first time they convinced my great grandfather, Ephraim Black that they were different from the other vampires because they drank animal blood instead of human. They made a treaty that we still honor today." he explained in a quiet serious voice.

"How far are the boundaries?" this idea of vampires and wolves negotiating a treaty was fascinating to me.

"They cover La Push."

"Why did the pack send you to negotiate them?" it was strange how easily I was able to say pack, I couldn't imagine saying bloodsucker or even coven.

"Because I'm the leader of the pack." he said it quickly, as if he hoped I wouldn't hear him.

"Oh." there seemed to be so much more to the supernatural world then I had thought. I had never considered that idea that there was a leader of the pack. I had never actually considered that their behavior may actually be like a pack of wolves.

"Bella, are you ok?" he was still watching me carefully and he seemed almost afraid of my silence.

"I'm fine." I said quietly.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come over, things went a little bit longer then I thought." he apologized. I could tell he was ready to get to a new topic.

"I understand, I guess I just didn't realize how much the wolf thing affected your life. You seem so normal."

"I am normal, to an extent. I can't ever go to the doctors, but I'm still alive, still human. I breath and have a heartbeat. Being a wolf is like having a job. It's something that occupies a lot of my time, but I'm still able to go home and do normal things at the end of the day."

"Do you like being a wolf?" we were walking closer now, I could feel the heat radiating off his arm.

"At first I didn't, but now I know that I wouldn't trust anyone else to get the job done. There are good things about it, too, I'm able to run faster then I ever imagined, and the pack is like family."

"That must be nice, always having a family that's there for you." How long had I envied people that had families because I didn't have one and had given up hope on finding them?

"Sometimes, but a lot of the time it's just annoying." he smiled and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Take it from someone who knows what it's like not to have a family and never take them for granted. Let's head back, it's getting late." we turned and began making our way back to the house.

I felt the occasional rain drop start falling as we neared the house. By the time we reached the front door it had turned into a complete down pour.

"Are you coming in?" I asked as we paused on the front porch.

"I really have to get going, but we're having a bonfire in a couple of days and you should come." he gave me the big smile that I had grown to love.

"Ok." I felt a smile appear on my face.

"Goodnight." he paused for a second and then leaned down and kissed me. Too soon it was over and he had disappeared into the shadows.

"Goodnight." I called after him as I turned to go inside.

"Done." I could hear Anya's voice say from somewhere in the night, but I ignored it and didn't pay any attention.

I was well aware that I was soaking wet, but it didn't seem to matter anymore. I felt like I was going to grow wings and fly, but too soon I knew I was going to have to face reality. I had just kissed a werewolf, if I stayed with Jacob how would that affect my life?

_Thank you for reading._


	34. Normal

"How was your walk?" Janice asked when I entered my room after taking a shower that night.

"Nice." I dropped my dirty clothes in my bag and laid out my blankets on the floor. Sleeping on the floor was going to get old fast.

"That's all I get is a "nice"?" Janice persisted.

"Yep." I popped the p as I turned out the lights and laid down on the ground, my back was already beginning to hurt.

"That's not really fair you know. I talk to you about Michael." she huffed.

"Life's not fair." I rolled my eyes as I tried to get comfortable on the floor. Sleeping in the car was more comfortable then this.

"Did he ask you out again?" she refused to give up.

"He asked me if I wanted to go to a bonfire with him." I gave in, she wouldn't let me get any sleep until I told her something.

"And you said?" I could hear the smile in her voice.

"I said yes. What did you and Michael talk about?" I quickly changed the subject, I didn't want her to ask questions about what we had talked about.

"He asked me if I wanted to go to dinner tomorrow." she seemed content to let things go for now.

"And you said?" I repeated her question.

"I said I would love to." I could hear her shifting on the bed and I hoped she was going to sleep.

Normally I wouldn't mind staying up and talking all night, but right now I just wanted some time to myself to think things through.

What if I did start dating Jake, not that I would, what would happen then? He had already shown that being a wolf occupied most of his time, what time did that leave for a relationship?

I had always just wanted to have a normal life and to be a normal person, if I dated Jake that life would be completely gone and what if things didn't work out? He was my dad's best friend's son it would make things completely awkward and weird.

As long as I didn't form any attachments to this place I could still leave. I could leave behind the vampires and werewolves and magical creatures. I could pretend none of this happened and go back to having a normal life that made sense, but I couldn't completely abandon Charlie, he deserved to have his daughter in his life. And if Janice and Michael moved here then I would have to come and visit.

"What are you thinking about?" Janice asked breaking into my thoughts.

"I'm thinking about college." I told her half of it.

"What about it?" she seemed completely oblivious to the fact that I may not decide to go along with them.

"I don't know that I want to stay in Washington." I admitted.

"Why not? You have Charlie and your old friends, but even if you didn't have them Washington is your home. No matter where you go, this will be the one place that you return to every time."

"How do you know?"

"Because I haven't found a place I can call home yet. There are places that I would be willing to return to, but I could easily never go there again and manage just fine. There's no one place that I've ever been willing to just stop and settle down at. They say that home is where the heart is and even though you couldn't remember a thing about this place you still returned. If that isn't a home then I don't know what is." it was moments like this that I saw beyond the girl who liked to shop and talk about boys. Janice paid attention and picked up on things. "And you know what I think? I think you're running. You are terrified of your feelings and the attachment your forming to the people here so you're going to run away. You're so used to being self reliant that you won't let anyone in. I know that things are hard for you and that this is an adjustment, but it's time to stop ignoring your problems and hoping they'll go away. It's time to stop making excuses and let yourself feel what you want to feel. You need to face your problems and get them resolved. You can't live your life by running, because eventually life catches up."

I sat there trying to process her words. I had been saying that thing were too hard so they weren't worth the effort and I had been ignoring my problems.

I had told myself that this situation was impossible so I should be able to ignore things, but that wasn't the way I was. I didn't just give up, I hadn't given up after the accident and I couldn't give up now. It wasn't fair to my friends and family and it wasn't fair to me.

"I'm sorry about what I said last night." Janice greeted me the next morning.

I was sitting in the kitchen reading the paper and eating a piece of toast. Charlie had left before I had woken up.

"No, you were right and I think that I needed someone to tell me what I was doing." I set the paper aside and turned to look at her.

"So, you aren't mad at me?"

"No, if anything you should be mad at me."

"Well, I'm not. I'm going to go get ready for the day, the boys are picking us up at ten." she hurried up the stairs before I could reply. It was times like these that I was thankful I was an early riser, it would have taken forever to wait for her to get out of the bathroom.

I rinsed my dishes and set them in the dishwasher, absently staring out the window.

From the kitchen window I had a clear view of the woods. Was it my imagination, or was there something moving? I looked closer and saw an abnormally large wolf. I made a mental note to ask Jake why the wolves were watching my house before I hurried up the stairs to finish getting ready.

Maybe today would be a normal day. Although I highly doubted it.

_Thank you for reading._


	35. Six Feet Under

"So, what do you think?" Mike asked as he showed us around the campus. He seemed to be overly enthusiastic considering we were walking around in the pouring rain.

"I think I've seen enough." Janice said for the third time in the last ten minutes. She was attempting to cover her head with a newspaper, and was doing a surprisingly good job considering the newspaper was so wet it was dripping down on her head.

"We haven't even seen half the campus." Mike protested. He acted like he didn't even notice the water that was coming down around us and soaking through our clothes.

"I've seen enough to make a decision." Janice was quick to insist.

"Don't you want to at least see the library?" Mike continued to try. I wondered if he got some amusement out of Janice's attempt to stay dry.

"Maybe another day, when it's not raining." Janice turned and began moving in the direction of the car, signaling that she was done.

"What do you think, Bella?" Mike asked as we walked in the direction she was running in. You couldn't miss the smirk on Mike's face as he watched her run, still trying to keep the rain from entirely soaking her hair.

"It's nice. Definitely an option to consider." I tried to remain polite, although I wasn't enjoying being dripping wet anymore then Janice.

"Janice and I have been talking about taking a weekend trip to Idaho to look at a couple of colleges there." Michael said as we finally reached the car. His statement was quickly forgotten as we saw the state Janice was in.

Janice had given up on her hair and was standing by the car with the newspaper crumpled in her hand. Water dripped from the ends of her hair and down her face, smearing her make up. If looks could kill, Mike would already be six feet under.

"Just open the door." she demanded as she shot the boys another deadly look.

Mike quickly hit the unlock key on his keys and Janice ducked into the back seat without giving them another glance.

"I think she's mad at you." I told Mike as I took the passenger's seat and Michael moved to the back.

"I need a break from the rain." Janice stated after we had pulled out of the parking lot.

"Which brings me back to our weekend trip. I want to go see my sister's new baby and it's a good chance to check out a couple more colleges." Michael turned the subject back to what he had talked about earlier.

"I can't leave. Dad's getting ready for our busiest season and they need my help around the store, plus my classes are starting up soon." Mike refused with a slight frown on his face.

"My savings are already starting to show signs of being drained. I need to get a job and start working, I don't really think that financially I can swing the trip right now, not without having a job." I refused as well.

"Have you thought about what your plans are for college?" Mike asked me. He suddenly seemed to be in a hurry to change the subject.

"If I can get enough money saved up I'll probably enroll for some summer classes, but if I can't I'll plan on starting in the fall."

"Starting where?" Mike asked.

"Right now it seems logical to just stay in Washington. My dad's already offered to let me stay with him and that should save me some money. I'll eventually start looking for apartments, probably in Seattle or near Port Angeles."

"Does that mean you've decided on what college?"

"I'm actually looking at some online schools, they give me a little bit more of a flexible schedule. As long as I have the internet I can pretty much live wherever I want." I finally admitted the plan I had been playing with for a while.

"I never thought of that." Janice admitted. She seemed to have recovered from her earlier annoyance.

"So I guess it's just the two of us going." Michael turned to Janice, turning the conversation back to his weekend trip.

"You pick the weekend." Janice smiled for a moment before she remembered she was supposed to be upset.

I rolled my eyes as I turned and looked out the window.

"If you need a job, you can come work with us." Mike offered, Janice and Michael were carrying there own conversation in the backseat.

"I want to look around first, but if I don't find anything else then I'll come work for your family. I appreciate the offer," I let several minutes go by before I asked the question that had been forming in my mind, "Why didn't you want to go see your cousin's baby?" I turned so that I could watch his face.

"Avery and I don't really get along." Mike tried to shrug it off.

"Why not?" I didn't usually like to push, but I was extremely curious why he had an issue with one of his cousins when his family had always acted like they were so close to each other.

"A couple of years ago I set her up with a friend of mine that I had known my entire life. They ended up getting engaged and everyone was thrilled, but a month before the wedding she found out that he was only marrying her for the connections he could get from her and her father. She called off the wedding and was upset with me because I had set her up with him in the first place. A year later she got engaged to her husband and I went to the wedding, but we've never been able to get along after that."

I glanced to the back seat, Michael and Janice were in their own world, not paying any attention to us.

"I thought Michael's father was a farmer?" I turned back to Mike. What connections could he possible get from a farmer?

"That's what they want you to think." I waited for him to smile or to laugh, but as I watched his face I realized he was serious.

"Is Michael involved?" suddenly everything I knew about their family seemed to be changing and I was left wondering if Michael had told me the truth.

"Let's just say that the family business has nothing to do with selling camping gear and farming." Mike turned to look at me. His eyes gave me the feeling that he was giving me a warning.

"I don't suppose you'd tell me what it is?" I tried to sound nonchalant, but my thoughts were taking darker turns as the possibilities of what they were trying to cover up were.

"I've told you enough already. I've gotten to know you as Abigail, and I think you can figure it out all on your own, Bella couldn't, but you can." he turned back to driving, leaving me with my own thoughts.

Why would Michael deliberately lie to me? And why would Mike warn me? He had offered me a job, was it with the store or with their family business?

I was suddenly left wondering about everything I had ever thought I knew about my friends.

_Thanks for reading._


	36. The Truth Takes Time

"How did it go?" Janice asked when I entered the car after my doctor's appointment.

"They took out my stitches and they say that my blood tests came back normal." I reported.

"So you can drive again?" I knew she was just as annoyed as I was that I couldn't drive myself places.

"Yes, I can drive myself around now." I forced a smile on my face. I knew that I needed to try harder to act normal or Janice would get suspicious.

I hadn't told her about my conversation with Mike. How could I explain to her that Michael had lied to us about his family? She wouldn't believe me, love was blind.

"Do you have plans today? Michael and I were going to go to Port Angeles for lunch and a movie and you and Mike could tag along." she suggested after several minutes of silence.

"No, I'm going to go visit a friend from the memory loss place that I stayed after the accident." I was baffled by her behavior. First she wanted me to date Jacob and now she's pushing Mike at me every chance she gets.

"Maybe another time." she pulled into Charlie's driveway and cut the engine.

"Do you mind if I take the car?" I asked as I grabbed my purse and stepped from the car.

"No, Michael's picking me up." I couldn't help but notice the smile that went across her face every time she said his name. Would she still smile if she knew the truth?

"Thanks." I went into the house and grabbed the papers I had left in a pile on the counter, jamming them into my purse.

"What are those?" Janice stopped to set her coat and purse down on the kitchen table.

"Just some paperwork I need to drop off." I evaded.

"What kind of paperwork?" she folded her arms and looked at me.

"I'm looking into a job. We can talk about it later." I hurried past her heading off any further conversation as I went out the door.

I hadn't really lied to her. I was looking into a job, I just wasn't trying to get hired I was trying to figure out what it was.

I paused in the act of pulling out of the driveway as my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I absently tapped a fingernail against the steering wheel. I had become noticeable jumpy since I had been forced to question everything I knew.

"Hey, Bells. This is Jacob. We're having the bonfire tonight and I wondered if you were still coming."

"Yeah, I don't think I have anything planned." I tried to keep my voice normal. In truth the fact that I may not know one of my best friends as well as I thought I did had completely shaken me and it was affecting my behavior with everyone.

"So I'll come and pick you up around six?"

"I'll see you then." I hung up the phone and tucked it back in my purse before I pulled the rest of the way out of the driveway and begun my drive to the restaurant where I had agreed to meet my friend.

"Hey, Abby. I haven't seen you in a long time." James Monroe greeted me when I entered the restaurant and took a seat at his table.

His dark hair was bluntly cut and he wore an expensive looking suit. His green eyes were welcoming and I was instantly reminded why we had become friends so quickly. He was almost 6 years older then me, but we had instantly gotten along when we had met at the memory loss facility.

"Things have been really busy with school." I replied returning his smile.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" his eyes turned serious.

I pulled the papers from my purse and pushed them across the table.

"This is a picture of Michael Anderson," I pushed the picture of the two of us standing in front of the university forward, "I recently acquired some information that suggests he may not be who he told me he was. I know you're busy, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to run him through your system and see if you can find anything on him."

I knew that I couldn't go to Charlie, he couldn't know that I was looking into the Newton family, so I had gone to my only other source.

"I'll look into it." he placed the papers in a bag next to him.

"Thanks, I owe you." I grabbed my purse and got up from the table.

"I'll be in touch."

When I returned to the parking lot a light rain had begun to fall. I hurried to the car and got in, slamming down the locks.

I paused as I glanced down at my hair. The black had faded to the point where it was a dark brown color. My hair hung down my back, I was sure that this was the longest I had ever had it.

I absently drove home, contemplating what I was going to do with my hair. I liked having the length, but I wasn't sure that I wanted it to go back to its natural color.

"Did you meet with your friend?" Janice was nicely dressed for her date and waiting by the door when I walked in.

"Yeah, it was nice to see him again." I slung my purse on the couch and moved towards the stairs.

"Hey, a letter arrived for you today, it's on the counter." Janice told me before I reached the stairs.

Curious, I changed directions and went into the kitchen to get the letter. I slipped my finger under the flap and opened the envelope.

I pulled out the contents and found a picture of Jeff and a folded piece of paper.

My breath caught in my throat and I felt like I was going to throw up. I steadied a hand on the counter to support myself and unfolded the letter:

_**Abigail,**_

_**I know it may be hard to believe, but I'm alive. I was taken into protective custody by a special section of the government. I wasn't supposed to contact anyone, but I didn't want you to feel guilty about our last conversation. They haven't told me much, just that everything's that happening at the school has something to do with you. Be careful, Abby.**_

_**-Jeff**_

I checked the date of the picture, it was taken nearly a week ago. What could all of this possible mean.

"Michael's here, I'm leaving," Janice poked her head into the kitchen, "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." I forced another smile on my face as I tried to suppress tears.

This had to be some kind of a trick. A special investigator had called and told me Jeff was dead. This had to be some kind of a set up. But if this was a set up, why did I have a feeling that all of this had something to do with the Newton's?

_Thanks for reading. _


	37. As Time Slips Away

My heart wasn't in it as I got ready for the bonfire that night. My feelings were twisted and stretched to the point where I didn't know what I felt anymore.

After being through so much I didn't know how much more I could handle. My life had once been simple and routine and now it was a mix of magical creatures and lies. I had no idea who I could possibly turn to and trust.

"Have you decided what to wear?" Janice asked when she entered my bedroom. I was wearing a bathrobe and the contents of my suitcase were sprawled across my bed.

"Not yet." I sighed as I collapsed in the rocking chair.

"It's just a bon fire, so you could probably just go with jeans and a nice shirt." she suggested helpfully as she searched through my pile of clothes. "What about this one?" she held up an aqua colored shirt that had long sleeves.

"Which jeans would you put with it?" I moved over to her, trying to concentrate on the task at hand.

"I'd do the darker denim jeans." she held up the jean to the shirt so that I could see them together.

"Thank you, Janice. You are a life savor." I grabbed the clothes and went into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

I finished my make up quickly and then had to decide on my hair. I finally just pulled part of it back and let the rest of the length hang down my back.

"You look nice." Janice smiled when I came down the stairs.

"Thanks." I returned her smile. The first genuine smile I had shown in days.

"Are you nervous?" she asked as I took a seat next to her on the couch.

"Not really." I didn't have room for any other emotions then the ones I was dealing with already.

"You want to talk about what's been bothering you for the last few days?" she folded her arms and looked at me.

"What would you do if you found out that someone you were close to was lying to you?" I finally asked as I leaned back against the cushions.

"I would confront them. Why, what does this have to do with how you've been acting?"

"Nothing, I've just been really stressed with everything that's going on." I backtracked quickly. For all I knew she was involved with what was going on with the Newton's.

"Right." before she could continue to pester me the doorbell rang and I hurried to get it.

"Hey." Jacob stood before me with a smile on his face.

"Hey." I returned, smiling slightly.

"You ready to go?" he broke me out of my trance after several seconds of us just staring at each other.

"Yeah, I'll see you later tonight, Janice." I cast her one last smile as I hurried out the door.

"So what have you been up to?" he asked as he opened the car door for me.

"We went and visited Mike's campus a few days ago and I had my follow up doctor's appointment." I supplied trying to keep him from seeing how distracted and distant I was.

"What did the doctor say?" concern tinged his voice.

"I'm pretty much back to normal." I watched the woods as we flew pas them, reminding me of the question I had been meaning to ask him.

"Do you have the wolves watching my house?" I asked him as I turned so that I could see his face.

"While you were gone we patrolled by your house to make sure that Charlie was safe and now that you're back we're just keeping an eye on things to make sure that both of you are safe. Bells, I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

"I can take care of myself, you know?" I found myself getting lost in his gaze.

"Sure, sure." he laughed and turned his eyes back to the road, breaking our connection

The silence I had been dreading descended on us and I was left to my thoughts. My mind twisted itself in different directions trying to make sense of the cluttered jumble my life was in.

"You haven't said anything about the kiss." Jake finally broke the silence. In all truth the kiss had completely fled my mind in all that had happened since then.

"What did you want me to say?" I turned and looked out the window, trying to keep him from being able to read the emotions on my face.

"I don't know." I could imagine the expression on his face, completely smooth and emotionless.

"I'm not upset that you kissed me, if that's what you're worried about." I looked over at him.

"I know that things in your life are complicated right now, and I don't want to add one more complication." he pulled up to a house that I recognized as his own and stopped in the driveway.

"Yes, my life is complicated. I just found family and friends that I had given up ever being able to find and before I can even process that I'm suddenly having to question everything I know about the life that I built for myself. I always thought I was a strong, self reliant person, but that was before I didn't know who I could trust. That was before I had to go through all of this and then realize at the end that I don't know the people I was the closest to like I thought I did." the tears I had been suppressing slowly slipped down my face, making me grateful that my mascara was water proof.

"You can trust me, Bells." he took me in his arms as all of my tears broke loose.

* * *

"She's wasting time on trivial matters." Anya said as we watched them.

"To her she's finding out some of the people that are closest to her have lied about who they are." I was quick to come to her defense.

"We don't have time for her to worry about her friends. If she doesn't follow her destiny then all is lost. It's only a matter of time until they figure out she is the one and make an extra effort to kill her."

"We still have time left, the Volturi have called off the trackers."

"The war is coming and she needs to prepare or else we will fail. If she continues to waste all her time and energy on her friends then she will never be ready."

"What do you suggest?" I asked finally, all she had done so far was complain about what was wrong.

"We need to speed up the process of getting things resolved with her friends, then we have to get rid of them. In the end all they will do is hold her back. She needs to find her home, family, and friends here. This is where she belongs." Anya looked up at me with her emerald eyes.

"So be it." I said her favorite phrase with a smile on my face.

"So be it." she agreed returning my smile.

_Thanks for reading._


	38. Alliances

The tears eventually ran out and I pulled away doing my best to wipe the moisture from my tear-stricken face.

"Sorry." I apologized as I went through my purse for tissues. I hadn't intended to have a break down.

"You don't have to apologize for crying." he smiled at me. "We have a little while until it starts, do you want to go in and use my bathroom?" he asked as I continued to look through my purse.

"Yeah." before I could even zip up my purse he had come over to my door and opened it for me. "Thanks." I smiled at him as we moved through his lawn and up to the front door.

He opened it and I hurried to the bathroom were I rinsed my face in cold water and reapplied the make up that had come off. When I was done I looked back to normal, at least normal enough that anyone who didn't really know me wouldn't notice.

"Hey." I smiled at him as I entered the living room. I completely intended to pretend none of this had happened.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he gestured to the seat next to him on the couch. Of course he wouldn't let it go.

I opened my mouth to come up with some excuse and then closed it again. I didn't want to lie to Jacob, I didn't want to lie at all anymore. I was sick of coming up with excuses for what was really going on with me.

Just as I was about to break my silence my cell phone began to ring. I pulled it from my purse and answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" I walked back to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

"Abby, where are you?" James voice came across the line. I could hear the panic and the sound of a car in the background.

"What's going on?" I avoided the question, realizing that I had no idea how to answer it.

"Are you with any of the Newton family?" he avoided my question just as I had avoided his.

"No, Why?" I could hear my heart speed up as I realized that he had an answer for me.

"Abby, their family deals in things that are unexplainable or supernatural. They occasionally do work for the government, that's how I got their file, but nobody knows who they really work for."

"What does this have to do with me?" I hadn't even known that I had anything to do with the supernatural world, how could they?

"Michael's not a student at your school. I believe he was assigned to get close to you."

"What does this mean?" I was trying to process the information he was giving me.

"Abigail, I intercepted a conversation with their superiors. They've gotten what they wanted from you and he's been assigned to take you out."

"What?" I felt the air go out of me in a whoosh.

"Where are you?" he repeated the question he had originally asked.

"I'm in La Push, on the reservation." I replied as panic welled up inside of me.

"Do they know where you are?"

"Janice does, but I don't think she's involved with any of this."

"Abigail, you can't assume that anyone's not involved with this. Can you get to a safe place and lay low for a couple of days while I try to figure this out?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm taken care of. You need to get Janice out of there." I sunk down to the floor.

"I'll work on it. Be careful, Abby. I'd recommend getting rid of your cell phone, it's traceable." and with that the phone went dead.

"Is everything ok, Bella." Jake knocked on the door.

"No." I came out of the bathroom and looked up at him in his eyes, "Jake, I need you to do something for me."

"Anything?" I could see him looking at my panic stricken face.

"I need you to take my cell phone as far away from here as you can. I don't have time to explain it right now, but I will when you get back."

"I'll do it, but I'm calling one of the guys to come stay with you."

"Ok." I agreed as I resisted the urge to burst into tears. How could I have been stupid enough to trust Michael?

Jake left through the front door and I went into the living room and collapsed on the couch.

"Do you want to explain to me why Jacob's running off with your cell phone and asking me to baby-sit you?" one of the boys who I recognized from when I had fainted entered the house.

I looked at him for several seconds and then I began telling him my story, starting from the beginning when I had gotten into the accident.

"Things have been really boring without you." he laughed when I was done.

"I miss the time when my life was boring." I placed my head in my hands.

"Relax, Bella, it's a couple of humans against a giant pack of wolves. You're safe." As I looked at him, suddenly a name matched his face. I knew that he was Embry.

What a time to start remembering details.

"For now." I replied as I went through my purse for anything I had gotten from Michael. The last thing I needed was him being able to trace my every move.

* * *

"How could we have been so stupid? The Volturi wouldn't just call off the trackers." Anya said, her voice was thick with panic.

"What are you saying?" I tried to make sense of this.

"The trackers aren't some great supernatural animal. They're the Newton family." her emerald eyes met mine and I could feel my own terror.

"What do we do?" I asked her helplessly.

"We wait and see what happens." she answered with raw emotion that she so rarely showed.

* * *

"Did you get your assignment?" My Aunt asked when I entered her house to get my things.

"I got it." I replied emotionlessly. Emotion was weakness in this business.

"Are you going to carry it out?" she folded her arms and leaned against the counter, watching me with cool calculated eyes, that told me that if I didn't do it, she would.

"Of course, she was just an assignment, that's all she's ever been." I folded my arms and met her gaze with one of my own.

"For your sake, I really hope you mean that."

"I've never failed an assignment before." I smirked as I made my point. It was common knowledge of the assignment she had failed.

"There's a first time for everything." she returned my smirk.

"I'll check in later." I grabbed my bag off the kitchen table.

"I'll be waiting." I could feel her eyes following me as I left the house.

_Thanks for reading._


	39. Time's Up

Fear coursed through me as the night went on. Jake and the other wolves were out patrolling and I found myself alone in Jake's house. Billy was meeting with the council to talk about the latest developments.

I could hear the wind howling outside of the house and I knew that a storm was coming. The boy they had left to watch me, Seth, was running around outside of the house and I would occasionally hear some sign that he was there.

I couldn't help but go over every conversation Michael and I had together, looking for some sign of him lying to me, but I couldn't find any. I could see how easily he had found his way into my life, I hadn't noticed one thing off about him. He had been the perfect gentlemen and someone I had always been able to talk to, I had fallen into his trap willingly.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and went out just as I heard the downpour began outside. I looked around for something to use for light, but I couldn't see anything in this darkness.

My eyes slowly adjusted and then I heard the sound of a creak in the house and I immediately turned toward the noise. I was absolutely terrified when I saw the movement in the darkness of the hallway.

"Hello? Seth?" I called out, trying to keep my voice firm and unwavering.

"It really is too bad things have come down to this." Michael stepped into the living room, just as a flash of lightening illuminated his face.

"How did you get past the wolves?" my voice came out steady and firm, holding only curiosity.

"It wasn't all that hard. All I had to do was create a distraction, the wolves and the vampires where already looking for a chance to go for each others throats. I just gave them the reason to." he leaned against the wall, his face was a smooth mask.

"If you're going to kill me then you could at least fill in the blanks of how you set this up so perfectly." for some reason beyond my comprehension I was no longer afraid.

"I guess it's only fair, since I'm going to kill you. My family mostly descends from a long line of assassins, that deal in magical creatures. My ancestors were the ones that made the deal with the Volturi, we would help them if they agreed to several conditions." he watched me closely waiting to see if I was going to try to run.

"What conditions?" I didn't make any movement as I watched him.

"They wanted to change my ancestors. Our family has a certain number of…talents, that they thought would make us a good accessory to their guard. The deal was that as long as they let their decedents and them stay human, we would help them."

"What kind of talents?" I wanted as much information as I could get before I tried to get away.

"We descend from the last vampire slayer and she passed on some interesting abilities."

"What do they want with me?" I carefully began looking around for the nearest escape. I had to time this perfectly.

"Don't you get it Bella, after the vampires became a high-bred they killed off all the slayers. Despite the fact that we have some of the talents of a slayer, we aren't even close to the powers that they had."

"I still don't see what this has to do with me." I stopped my search and looked up at him, suddenly deadly curious.

"Isabella Swan, you're the first slayer to be born in almost 500 years."

"I thought you said that they were extinct because they aren't strong enough." he had to be lying, there was no way this was possible.

"You're stronger then the others. Haven't you ever wondered why Edward wasn't able to hear your thoughts and why your blood calls to vampires unlike any other human. You are the strongest slayer that has ever been because you are able to fight the high-bred vampires."

"I'm not strong, I'm completely normal. There's no way I could possibly fight off a vampire."

"That's because you haven't accessed the power yet and we can't allow you to. I was assigned to get all the information I possibly could from you and then get rid of you before you could inherit your destiny. I'm sorry, Abby, but you've come too close, I have no choice other then to stop you. You're a threat to the Volturi."

I suddenly threw myself toward the door. I had to get out of here, but his hand grabbed my arm and tightened pulling me back.

"It was a very nice try." he hissed in my ear before he threw me to the ground, standing between me and the front door.

I got up quickly turning to face him and grabbed a vase from the nearest table throwing it at his head I ran toward the back door.

I could hear his footsteps behind me as I moved into the kitchen and pressed my back against the counter. I didn't want him anywhere near my back.

He moved toward me in a predatory manor and I looked around for a weapon, anything I could use, but the kitchen was completely clean with nothing on the counters and there was nothing to use.

He was getting closer and closer and I knew I had to do something.

I kicked him using the force to lift myself over the counter, so that we had something between us. The glass sliding door was right to my side, but I didn't have time to fiddle with the lock and I couldn't turn my back to him. I picked up the nearest kitchen chair and hit it against the glass as hard as I could, I was lucky and the glass shattered on the first try. I could feel the cuts the glass had left, but I didn't pause. I forced myself forward, running faster then I ever had in my life toward the howls in the distance.

His feet pounded behind me and I pushed myself harder and faster. I wasn't ready to die, I had too much to do.

I could see the edge of a clearing coming up in front of me. The sound of howls and talking drifted to me from it. All I had to do was get to that clearing and hope that my presence was enough to stop them from fighting with each other and go after the man behind me.

I reached the clearing and didn't stop until I had gotten to the middle. Michael paused, his eyes wandering between the wolves and the vampires, before returning to me, who was standing in the middle of them.

"We'll meet again." he smiled at me before fleeing the way he had come. No one made a move to go after him, they were too focused on each other.

Everyone's eyes turned instantly as Anya and Damon entered the clearing, just as they had in my dream.

"This is your fate, Isabella." she said the same words she had told me before.

"What he said can't possibly be true. I'm completely ordinary." I told her, everyone's eyes were shifting between me and Anya. As they tried to assess the situation.

"You're not ordinary and you never have been. Isabella, this has always been your destiny," she paused as she reached for the emerald pendant on her neck, "This belonged to the first slayer, it's your now. Do you accept it?"

My life suddenly past before my eyes. I saw every memory and thought I had ever had. I saw Edward and Jacob and how they had both been such a big part of my life. I relived the accident and I saw myself meet Michael and Janice. I watched every moment up until I was standing here, in front of Anya, with the choice of accepting a destiny that had been fated to me since the beginning.

There wasn't really a choice, there never had been. This was who I am and who I had always been, it had just taken me a long road to realize that.

"Yes." I answered as I lifted my head from where I was staring at the ground and met her eyes.

"So be it." she slipped the amulet around my head and it tightened around my throat.

"You still have a long way to go, but you'll get there." Damon finally spoke up from where he was.

"I know." I replied.

My eyes snapped awake and I was on the couch in Jacob's house. My eyes hurried around the room and I saw the pack watching me closely.

"Are you ok, Bella? You just kind of blacked out on us while you were explaining about Michael." Jacob said as my eyes continued to wander the room.

"Did you get rid of my phone?" I couldn't shake off how real that had been.

"It's gone." he was watching me with concerned eyes.

I reached up a hand, pausing, I knew what would be there before I let my hand travel all the way to my throat. The amulet was still on my neck, where it almost seemed to pulse.

I knew what I had to do. I had accepted this destiny, and I would have to go up against the Newton family and the Volturi. It had been what I was supposed to do all along.

"I'm fine." I answered as I looked up and met his eyes, and for the first time in a long time I was being completely honest.

I continued in my explanation of the Newton family. All the while my thoughts traveling to the enormous task I had before me.

_Thanks for reading. I appreciate all the reviews, favorites, etc._


	40. Allegiances

I entered my house cautiously. The lights were out and Charlie's cruiser wasn't in the driveway like I had expected it to be so late at night.

"Everything ok?" Jake checked from where he stood beside me as I flipped the entryway lights on.

"Fine." my voice came out tight and jumpy. I half expected someone to jump out of the shadows.

I moved slowly through the house turning on lights as I went, Jacob was a silent shadow behind me. I never would have dared enter this house again without him.

"Janice!" I called, letting my voice ring through the house.

My only answer was silence.

"I'll grab some clothes and we can leave." I told Jacob as I moved up the stairs. I had mixed feelings about the house being empty. Jacob stayed right on my heels, taking his job of protecting me seriously.

I flipped the light in my bedroom on and immediately something didn't feel right. Janice's and my clothes were scattered across the floor and furniture was tipped over as if there had been some kind of a fight.

My breath caught in my throat as I saw the smear of blood that went up my window.

"It wasn't a vampire, I would have smelled it coming in if it was." Jacob told me

"Where's Charlie?" thoughts flitted through my head of what James had said about Janice working with them.

"He's at the Police Station, my Dad talked to him an hour ago." he reassured me.

"Let's just go." I couldn't bring myself to pack a bag of clothes. It made me sick to even stand in this room. I couldn't bare to think about what had happened to Janice, I hoped that James had gotten her to a safe place.

"Ok." he nodded as we left the room, leaving everything as we had found it.

As I passed the kitchen I noticed the note from Jeff had fallen from the counter and onto the floor. I carefully went over and picked it up, the picture and the envelope were both missing.

"What?" Jacob watched the expression on my face.

"There was a return address on the envelope." I answered as a wave of nausea came over me.

"You think that the Newton's are going after Jeff?"

"I don't even know if Jeff's alive." I answered as I stuffed the letter in my pocket and the two of us walked toward the door.

"What do we do?" he asked when we were safely in the car, driving down the street.

"I'll call James." I answered as he handed me his cell phone.

I dialed the familiar number and waited patiently for him to answer. After about a minute of the ringing the answering machine went on and I left a brief message asking him to call me before I hung it up.

"It's not like him not to answer his cell phone, he brings it with him everywhere." I worried as I ran a hand through my hair, something I did when I was stressed.

"Maybe he got a lead." Jake tried to reassure me.

"Maybe." I agreed, but I wasn't convinced.

* * *

"Hello?" I answered my cell phone as I drove down the highway towards my Aunt's house.

"Have you completed your assignment?" My Aunt asked from the other end of the line.

"I've taken care of it." I confirmed.

"Good, I'm taking care of some things on my own, but I'll see you at home in the next couple of days."

"Ok." I shut the phone and tossed it on the seat next to me.

* * *

The house looked completely harmless. It was out of the way, with a perfectly manicured lawn and a nice flowerbed. No one would even begin to guess that someone was hiding inside.

I slipped my phone in my purse and opened the car door, moving up to the front door I rang in the doorbell and waited patiently.

"Olivia." Jeff greeted me as he opened the door.

"What were you thinking?" I demanded as I stepped inside of the safe house and moved into the living room.

"She deserved to know that I was alive." Jeff answered as he closed the door and followed me into the room, not even pretending he didn't know what I was talking about.

"I did you a favor. I went out of my way to save your life and look at how you repaid me. I've lost my credibility with my family and now they think I'm incapable of doing a job correctly. They don't trust me, and as long as they don't trust me I can't save the other people they're supposed to kill. I can't keep cleaning up after you, they came too close to finding your picture and the envelope with your return address on it." I told him, letting all of my annoyance and anger seep into my voice.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." he sat down on one of the couches and placed his head in his hands.

"I didn't think you were." I closed my eyes and forced myself to calm down.

"It won't happen again." he promised me.

"It better not. Do you have the pictures I asked for?" I went back to business, forcing myself to focus on the job.

"They're right here." he handed a manila envelope to me.

I opened it and let the pictures fall into my hands. I went through them one at a time, looking for any flaws that could give them away as fakes.

"Congratulations, You are now known to the Volturi and my family as dead." I stuffed the pictures back in the envelope and grabbed my purse off of the couch. "I'll be in touch." I called over my shoulder as I left the house and moved back to my car.

I tossed my things into the seat next to me and started the engine, moving back onto the road. Now, all I had to do was deliver these pictures to my family, if you could really call them family.

_Thank you for reading._


	41. The End of the Beginning

The wind picked up as I sat by the cliff staring out at the dark waters below. The waves would race towards the shore and crash against the rocks. There was something almost serene in watching what was bound to be yet another storm come rolling in.

"Is everything ok?" Jake asked as he came up behind me. I had seen very little of him in the last few days, since he was gone most of the time patrolling.

"Fine." I answered quietly as I continued to stare out at the water.

"You've been kind of quite the last couple of days." he took a seat beside me and followed my gaze.

"I've just had a lot to think about." I let my eyes wander down to my lap. I didn't want to think about my worry over not being able to get a hold of James and Janice being missing. I didn't want to think about the dreams that I had been having. I just wanted to stare out at the water and pretend everything was alright.

"You can talk to me, you know?" he took my small hand in his big one and I allowed my eyes to wander up and meet his gaze.

"Some things are better left unsaid." I answered as I looked away once again.

"It's not good to bottle things up." he persisted his voice going harder now, in the way that I knew signaled he wouldn't give up until he got an answer out of me.

"I can handle it." I took my hand out of his and stood, planning to go back to the house.

"No you can't," his voice had become blunt and dead serious, "Whatever's going on with you is just going to keep festering until it comes out. Everyone has a breaking point and I'm sure you've just about reached yours."

I turned and faced him, looking up into his eyes.

"So you want me to say that I'm worried that I can't reach James and that I have no idea what to think about Janice being missing. That I'm terrified, and not because of what I know is coming for me, but what I know I can't run from, what I can't escape." I let all of my frustration and anger go into my words and with it the air around me seemed to shimmer in what felt like raw energy. I sucked in a breath and suddenly it all stopped at once, leaving me with a feeling of apprehension. I had seen what was going to happen, what I needed to do. If I didn't prepare now, everything could possibly be lost.

"What was that?" Jake let the other topic go. If he hadn't felt the energy that lit up the air I was sure that the look on my face tipped him off.

"I have absolutely no idea." the lie came out rough, I knew that he could see right through it, but I didn't have time to explain, to talk things through with him, none of us had time.

"Bella." he began, but I didn't give him a chance to continue.

"Jake, I just want to go back to the house and rest. Can we talk about this later?" for some reason this lie came easier. Maybe it was because I knew that I needed to do this on my own. This was something that the pack couldn't help me with.

"Ok." he relented as he looked at my face.

He claimed my hand again as we moved back towards the house. It felt natural to have him by my side. It hurt me to know that I may not be by his side again for quite some time.

"But not forever." Anya's cryptic voice seemed to float on the wind.

Jacob led me up the steps to his house and we went through the door into the house that had become almost as familiar as my own.

Billy seemed to almost be waiting for us, sitting in the kitchen doorway. Watching me with wise, understanding eyes.

Jake moved toward the couch and I stopped him, "Jake, you can sleep in your bed, I'll take the couch." I gave him a wan smile as I stepped in front of him.

"Bells." he protested, beginning the argument that we had almost daily.

"You've been out patrolling and I'm just going to relax and watch some TV. Really, Jake, just get a couple of hours of sleep you work too hard."

"Ok." he surprised me by agreeing. Just a sign of how tired he really was.

"Night." I smiled, and then without even thinking about it I kissed him. A kiss that would have to last for however long I was gone.

"I'll see you in a couple of hours." he smiled, the smile that I loved, as he went back to his bedroom.

"Your bags right there." Billy told me as soon as we were sure that Jake was in his room.

"You knew all along, didn't you?" I grabbed the bag off the floor and stood to face Billy.

"I did. The legends informed us, we knew who you were the minute we saw you."

"Thank you." I pulled the envelope I had written earlier that day out of my back pocket and pressed it into his hands. "Will you give this to him?" I moved my head in the direction of the bedroom.

"I will." he promised me.

I nodded once and then moved toward the front door, pausing in the doorway.

"Here." he tossed me a set of keys before I could say anything.

"Thank you." I gave him one last smile before I moved out into the yard shutting the door behind me. I hit the unlock button on the keys and my car, all the way from Denver, unlocked. It was sitting to the side of the house, just out of sight.

I got into the car and started it, pulling out into the streets.

I was forced to rely on memories from another time as I navigated the roads that were wet from the rain. I finally turned off onto a lane and pulled in front of a beautiful home.

I cut the engine and got out of the car, standing, leaning against it as I waited. They knew I was here, I had no doubt.

"Isabella." Carlisle greeted me as him and his family moved out of the house and onto the front lawn.

"I know what you are and I also know what's coming. I'm not here to exchange pleasantries. I'm here to tell you that the time is coming when you have to chose a side." my voice came out stronger than I had thought it would.

I didn't wait for them to recover from what I had just announced. I got back in my car and started it again moving back the way I had came.

It took me much longer than I wanted to reach the air port. I parked it almost a block away, I really didn't need my car again, and walked the rest of the way to the building. I entered and picked up the ticket that Billy had reserved for me.

"The woman over there wants to speak with you." the woman at the counter told me after I snagged the ticket.

I glanced over my shoulder and into the eyes of none other than Olivia Newton.

"What do you want?" I folded my arms as I stood in front of her.

"I wanted to wish you luck and tell you that even though I know you won't believe me, I'm on your side." she stood up and paused in front of me, watching me with eyes that looked almost grey.

"Do you know what happened to James and Janice?" I asked the question that had been eating up at me. I knew she was the only one I could get the answers from.

"James intercepted one of my family's communications with the Volturi. He assumed that the assignment was for Michael to take out you, but it wasn't. Janice had outlived her usefulness and the Volturi wanted her dead."

"What?" I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

"She's ok. I managed to find where it had been intercepted and found James. I told him what was happening and he got to Janice first. The two of them are at the same safe house that Jeff's in."

"Jeff?" I believed her, for whatever crazy reason, I believed her.

"I'll make sure they're ok. You just do what you need to do." she promised me. She then turned and disappeared into the crowd, just as my plane called boarding.

I turned and without another look back I moved toward the plane.

_This is the end of Amnesia. The sequal, Calm Before the Storm has been posted. You can find it on my page._

_You can also check out my new story, Future in the Pas__t. Summary:_

_Bella doesn't move back to Forks in high school, but instead after she graduates after Charlie has a heart attack. Now having to deal with a new town, new romance, and still deal with her life in Florida Bella finds the meaning of family. JakeBella_

_Thanks for reading. I really appreciate all the feedback and support I've recieved.  
_


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